New York Yankees closer Clay Holmes has been one of the best in the business so far this year, as he's tied for third in the MLB with 19 saves. However, the Kansas City Royals got the best of him Thursday afternoon, spoiling a thrilling Yankees comeback.
The veteran right-hander shared some insight on his fourth blown save of the year, via YES Network.
“Yeah, just trying to get him on the ground there, make a good pitch,” Holmes said about giving up a single to outfielder Kyle Isbel. “I knew the sinker had some bottom to it, so really just trying to get some weak contact there…bottom line I just need to make a better pitch there.”
Isbel's hit set up Maikel Garcia's walk-off two-run double in the next at-bat.
“I just can't fall behind 2-0 there,” Holmes said about the Garcia hit. “Once he sees two sinkers and he's got count leverage, he's just selling out for that pitch there I think. I gotta start off with some better pitches and get some count leverage.”
After missing with his first two sinkers, Holmes dealt Garcia a third one in the outside corner, which the 24-year-old lined to left to ice the game.
While New York can't cry too much after finishing a road series 3-1 against a winning team, this game in particular would've been exciting to win. After falling behind 2-0 and getting no-hit through the first six innings, the Yankees rattled off three runs in the top of the eighth, scoring them a 3-2 lead. Holmes couldn't preserve it, though.
“It's a tough one,” Holmes admitted. “Especially after Nestor [Cortes] gave us a great start today, our offense battled. They kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win. Juan [Soto] came through with a big hit there, and I just need to close out and finish out for us.”
Was this appearance a blip on the radar, or should New York be worried about Holmes?
Holmes has been great for the Yankees this season, but he could give up less hits
While Holmes has performed admirably this season, he'll continue to get in trouble if he keeps giving up so many hits. The 31-year-old has coughed up 31 hits thus far, third-most among closers, via MLB.com.
It could help to pitch for strikeouts, rather than for contact. Holmes' signature sinker is designed to produce weak ground balls, but even those can result in unlucky plays for the defense.
After retiring the leadoff hitter, Royals outfielder Drew Waters tapped a soft grounder perfectly in between Holmes and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, resulting in an infield single that started Kansas City's rally.
“It was one of those things where I may or may not could've grabbed it,” Holmes explained. “It was close there, but I felt like it was definitely gonna take me off my line to first base. I didn't wanna stray too far off of my line in case Rizz [Rizzo] was going for it and I needed to cover first base. It was one of those things that was just perfectly in between I feet like. Just a tough play right there.”
Mixing in more four-seam fastballs to go with his sinkers could do the trick for Holmes. Sometimes, even producing weak contact isn't enough to get a save, depending on how the ball bounces.
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