Yankees lose another close game as Clay Holmes loses feel for the strike zone

BOSTON — It’s hard to find success as a high-leverage pitcher when you’re struggling to throw your best pitch for strikes.

Yankees closer Clay Holmes was dominant early this season as he attacked the strike zone with his sinker, walking just nine of the 163 batters he faced from the start of the season to the All-Star break. Since then, he’s walked seven of 39 batters faced in eight games and has blown three saves in that time.

Holmes’ strike-throwing inconsistency in recent weeks flared up at its worst Friday night in Boston, when he threw nine strikes in 20 total pitches to four batters, walking two before he gave up a game-tying single in the ninth inning. The Yankees lost to the Red Sox in the 10th inning, falling 3-2 to Boston and taking their 14th loss in 21 games since the All-Star break.

“Nothing against their guy, but we know what’s going on the last month,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Holmes after the Yankees’ loss. “We had the two lefties coming up with (Rafael Devers), and (Alex) Verdugo hitting behind Xander (Bogaerts). We rolled the dice there. It was out of necessity, but at the same time, trying to maximize our lineup, understanding he was coming in and he’s struggled since the last time he was here.”

Holmes got Devers out, then walked Bogaerts and Verdugo. He stayed in to face the right-hander, J.D. Martinez, as left-handed Wandy Peralta warmed up behind him. After going 2-1 to Martinez, Holmes left a sinker over the plate that went up the middle to tie the game.

“Some of the sinker command hasn’t been exactly like it has been early in the year,” Holmes said Friday night. “It’s the walks that I’m getting hurt on right now. Anytime you walk guys late in the game, typically you pay for it. I need to get ahead of hitters, and my stuff plays a lot better in those counts.”

Until the ninth inning, the Yankees had been having the type of pitching night that seemed as if it would help reset some of their woes in recent weeks. Starting pitcher Domingo Germán allowed one run over six innings. Deadline addition Scott Effross had a scoreless outing in the seventh. Most importantly, Aroldis Chapman put together his eighth consecutive scoreless appearance after facing three batters in the eighth inning. Chapman’s resurgence, both in results and velocity, are now particularly well-timed as Holmes struggles.

After the loss, neither Holmes nor manager Aaron Boone chalked up the struggling sinkerballer’s issues to fatigue.

“I actually think maybe he’d benefit from more regular work,” Boone said. “There are times where, he’s in that role where we’re keeping him out of there. So I don’t think it’s a fatigue thing.”

Holmes struggled with strike-zone command early in his 2021 season in Pittsburgh, then was traded to New York and began throwing his sinker constantly, which he has said helped him with his command.

“When I started throwing my sinker like seven times in a row without mixing in an alternative pitch, I think that just really solidified my release,” Holmes told The Athletic in early July.

The issue for Holmes now might be an issue with the feel for his primary pitch, he said Friday night.

“Maybe there’s a little mechanical thing,” Holmes said. “It could be a lot of factors. Especially with sinkers, sometimes it’s a feel pitch, and it’s a matter of finding that consistent feel and finding that consistent starting point, and just being able to trust that.”

Holmes threw 19 sinkers Friday night, with one slider mixed in. He sprayed the sinker all around the zone, landing just three for called strikes and getting only one whiff on it.

The Yankees have had a revolving door of high-leverage bullpen assignments this season. Chapman and Jonathan Loaisiga have struggled and were on the injured list, and Holmes and Michael King stepped up in their place. King went down for the season with an elbow fracture as Holmes has struggled, and Peralta temporarily bailed out the Yankees on Friday night after Holmes blew the save. The circle of trust has seemed to shift each month based on streaks and slumps, but Boone noted that Chapman performed well in a high-leverage situation against the Red Sox on Friday night.

“He’s gonna continue to be in those (situations),” Boone said. “He’s throwing the ball incredibly well. Love what we’re seeing there, so keep building on that.”

In the meantime, the Yankees are just not finding ways to get it done the way they did early in the season. Despite losing eight of their last nine games, they maintain a 10-game lead in the AL East. The Yankees, Blue Jays and Rays all lost three games in a row by Friday night. New York is in the fortunate position of treading water in the standings while spiraling out in individual games.

Their remarkable success early this season coincided with Holmes’ success, and now they are losing games as he struggles. Just as Holmes will need to rediscover the feel for his sinker, the Yankees will need to rediscover their feel for winning close games.

(Photo of Yankees manager Aaron Boone taking the ball from Clay Holmes in the ninth inning Friday in Boston: David Butler II / USA Today)