No hold … just Holder
Lights-out to set up comeback
It felt like a “ho-hum, go down in defeat,” kind of game, Aaron Boone said. It felt like a Wednesday night no one would have a reason to remember.
The Mariners led 5-0, and were still up, 5-2, when Jonathan Holder took the mound in the sixth inning. But by the time the reliever finished throwing a season-high 2 ¹ /3 shutout innings, Gary Sanchez was in position to blast a game-tying homer — giving Giancarlo Stanton the opportunity for his greatest swing of the season, giving the Yankees a wild 7-5 win.
Officially, Holder was credited with nothing after the outing. There was no win, no save, no hold — just the admiration of a team that knew the incredible night couldn’t have occurred without him.
“He’s been terrific,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s earned everything he’s gotten this year, [from] making our team to getting sent down to kind of being one of the last guys in the pen now, to earning more and more high leverage opportunities.”
Relying on Holder would have been preposterous two months ago.
In his first three appearances of the season, he allowed seven runs, over 2 2/3 innings. Holder was then sent to the minors, holding a 20.25 ERA.
Since returning on April 21, the right-hander has featured a newly developed slider, and hasn’t allowed an earned run in 21 games (22 ¹/3 innings), while lowering his ERA to 2.00.
“He definitely has made some adjustments,” catcher Gary Sanchez said. “Now he’s using a changeup. He’s not using a curveball, he’s using a slider. I think the combination is what has given him an edge right now.”
Holder provided more than the Yankees knew they needed. With Boone just hoping to limit how many relievers he would have to use in the impending loss, Holder allowed the comeback to begin.
“It’s always good to keep it where it’s at when you come in because, like our offense just showed, we’re never really out of a game,” Holder said. “Even when it comes down to the ninth inning, we’re never out of it.”
Holder allowed no hits, and no walks, while striking out two. Though he allowed Mike Zunino to reach base after hitting him with a pitch in the eighth inning, Holder quickly forced Dee Gordon into an inning-ending groundout.
Holder’s 32 pitches (20 strikes) were the most he had thrown all season.
“We needed him just because we needed the length, and we needed him to hold the lead, and we pushed him probably more than we normally do because we needed the innings out of him,” Boone said. “I felt like he was tired his last couple hitters. He was maybe a little gassed and he just continues to make pitches anyway. He really competes well.
“Like so many guys that maybe you didn’t account for going in, he’s been a huge factor in us winning ballgames all year.”