The New York Yankees lost 7-1 to the Houston Astros on Sunday to drop the series two games to one. Despite the loss, there was one positive to take away from the game. The Yankees deployed Devin Williams in the sixth inning, where he struck out the side to end his dreadful slide. Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post wrote about the silver lining of another Bombers loss.

“Pitching in a less stressful sixth inning designed to help boost his confidence, Devin Williams looked like a better pitcher during the Yankees’ 7-1 loss to the Astros in The Bronx,” Sanchez wrote. “Williams struck out the side — Chas McCormick, Jeremy Peña and Carlos Correa — on his 11 pitches (10 strikes). His afternoon ended a streak of five straight appearances in which he had allowed at least one run.”

Williams blew the first game of the Astros series in the tenth inning, cost the Yankees two games against the Rangers, and has been dreadful all season. They traded for three relievers, including former closers David Bednar and Camilo Doval, at the trade deadline. Aaron Boone has not committed to a closer, but the bullpen deployment on Sunday points to Williams not being the closer.

The Yankees traded for Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers before the season. They gave up Caleb Durbin and Nestor Cortes to land the final year of his contract. Now, he is not the closer and won't be trusted in big spots down the stretch. That will create a fascinating free agency for Williams, who was the best closer in the National League in Milwaukee before this dreadful season.

The Yankees host the Twins this week, where Williams may get another chance in a low-leverage role. The next time he is pitching in a high-leverage role will draw a lot of eyes from Yankee fans and other teams.

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