Expect to see a lot more mixing and matching from the Yankees at the end of games instead of simply relying on Clay Holmes as the regular closer.
Asked prior to Tuesday’s game against Cleveland if Holmes would close if there were a save opportunity, Aaron Boone said, “It could very well be [Holmes], but again, I will leave that open and try and put these guys in places where they match up really well. So we’ll see.”
That comes after Holmes blew his 10th save of the season on Sunday against the Tigers in Williamsport, Pa.
Clay Holmes reacts during the nth inning of an outing earlier this season.
The Yankees will instead begin to look more at matchups to determine who pitches the late innings.
If there’s a bunch of right-handed batters coming up in the eighth inning, Holmes might get the call there.
And if a segment of a lineup is approaching in the ninth with a few tough lefties, they could turn to pitchers that have more success versus left-handers.
Holmes said he wanted to close, but was open to other jobs.
“I’ve never been too caught up in titles or roles,” Holmes said. “I’ll approach it like I always have. I want to help the team win. It doesn’t matter [in] what capacity.”
Mark Leiter Jr. throws a pitch during the ninthn inning of a Yankees game against the Blue Jays.
Pitching coach Matt Blake said Holmes has had “a solid season. It’s noisy around him and us. He’s still throwing the ball well.”
But Blake said Holmes has occasionally been the victim of tough situations.
They’d still like to avoid him facing too many lefties if they feel they have better options.
Among those who could be used in those spots are the bullpen’s two left-handers, Tim Hill and Tim Mayza, as well as righties like Tommy Kahnle, Mark Leiter Jr. and Luke Weaver — who are also effective against lefties.
“You look at how our bullpen is constructed and we have a lot of guys that are really good at getting lefties out,’’ Blake said. “For us not to be open-minded and creative about it would be short-sighted.”
Holmes allowed an OPS of .560 against lefties last season. It’s risen to .726 this season.
But Blake also noted, “The ninth inning is a little bit its own animal, so you have to consider that.”
Boone, Holmes and Blake said the right-hander’s confidence remained high, but the results haven’t been good of late.
It remains to be seen how often Holmes gets the ninth inning going forward.
Yankees pitcher Tommy Kahnle pitches in the ninth inning when the Yankees played the Rangers.
But that doesn’t mean Holmes won’t be picking up more saves.
“I expect it to be Clay on a lot of nights,’’ Boone said. “But if I feel like that really good matchup for Clay is in the eighth on a given night, where it serves him or lines up better … then I’ll be open to doing that a little bit more than I have.”
Holmes’ stuff remains good and as Boone said, “he’s been unfortunate. He hasn’t made a pitch in a couple of spots where he could, but based on the way he’s thrown the ball the entirety of this year, really, you would expect him to have success moving forward. That’s my expectation.”
