On Tuesday, in a tight one-run game with the bases loaded, Clay Holmes left a slider hanging over the middle of the plate, and Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford crushed it 407 feet to left field for a walk-off grand slam. That may well have been Holmes’ last pitch as the Yankees’ designated closer.
This blown save marked Holmes’ 11th of the season and his seventh failure in 17 opportunities since July. While his season stats (3.27 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 3.16 strikeout-to-walk ratio) aren’t as bad as his struggles in critical moments, it’s become evident that the two-time All-Star’s high-contact sinkerball approach is no longer effective in the ninth inning. Manager Aaron Boone suggested as much after the game, noting, “we have options in the bullpen, and we’ll consider everything.”
With less than four weeks left in the season and the Yankees battling the Orioles for the AL East title, Boone must decide who should take over as closer for the stretch run and playoffs. There’s a strong candidate to step in—someone with postseason experience and strikeout potential, though they would have been an unlikely choice for the role at the beginning of the season.
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