KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver at the end Thursday night, finishing up the Yankees’ ALDS clinching 3-1 win over the Royals in Game 4 and completing a nearly perfect performance in the series from a bullpen that, at this point, is likely as strong as any remaining in the postseason.
“We’ve always been confident with ourselves there,’’ Holmes said of the pen. “We got a little rest [at the end of the regular season] and it did us good. Now, we’re all together and we’ve got to keep it up.”
Over the course of the series, Yankee relievers combined to pitch 15 ²/₃ innings without allowing an earned run and Weaver has seemingly cemented his role as closer.
“We always believed we were good enough,’’ Holmes said of the pen. “We had ups and downs, but it’s good to see when we’re needed the most, guys have been at their best.”
After Holmes got Michael Massey and Bobby Witt Jr. to end the bottom of the eighth, Weaver entered and retired Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez and Yuli Gurriel to help send the Yankees to the ALCS.
“We’ve been fighting to get better all year and for me, it’s been a hard road to get here,’’ Weaver said. “It’s hard to believe when you’re the guy getting the final out.”
Weaver and Holmes have been through dips in their careers, as well as this season.
But each has emerged as a late-game weapon for Aaron Boone.
“We’re set up so well down there now,’’ Boone said. “So many guys are throwing it well that it gives us a lot of options, which is important this time of year.”
Weaver keeps getting the last out, but Holmes continues to be an October stopper, extending his playoff scoreless streak to 13 innings over 10 appearances.
He lost his closer role earlier in the season but has become one of the most important parts of the Yankees’ postseason pen.
“Things haven’t gone perfectly, and I can accept that,” Holmes said prior to the game. “Sometimes, it’s not perfect, and I can be limited sometimes, but I still know the pitcher I can be.”
And there’s a reason the right-hander thinks he’s been able to pitch so well in October.
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The stressful situation forces Holmes to think less and just pitch.
“[The playoffs] allow me to take it one out at a time and treat every out as the most important out of the game,’’ Holmes said. “It simplifies things. It makes it so you’re not in your head, thinking about this lane or this batter. You’ve got to get every batter out because this out can be the most pivotal out of the game. You never know in these games. For me, that mentality simplifies things and helps me get the most out of my stuff from the get-go. It puts me on the attack.”
Perhaps that explains some of Holmes’s struggles this season, but the Yankees have continued to talk about certain “lanes of righties” for whom Holmes is built.
And there’s no denying his increased effectiveness since being pulled from the closer role. During the regular season, Holmes had a 3.86 ERA and a WHIP of 1.548 over 42 innings in 45 save situations. In 22 non-save spots, Holmes pitched to a 1.71 ERA with a WHIP of 0.810 over 21 innings.
“I can still get outs and be a really good pitcher,’’ Holmes said. “I know the team we have here and what we’re capable of, so no matter what role it is, I want to be a part of it. I want to help. That’s helped me be resilient. I have good teammates that had my back and had confidence in me that I’d bounce back.”