BOSTON — Even before the Yankees arrived at Fenway Park this weekend, they were going to have to add to their bullpen ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.
And then their two best relievers contributed to the growing problems on Friday night, as Luke Weaver and Clay Holmes blew a three-run lead in what became the Yankees’ latest brutal loss.
But Holmes found redemption a night later with two scoreless innings to finish off a miraculous comeback 11-8 win over the Red Sox in 10 innings.
“He was great,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Especially after having to go [Friday] night, and then to give us his first full two innings there, he was sharp, he was crisp, he was ahead. He’s been going through it too, but that’s just a gutsy turn-the-page, compete-my-butt-off performance.”
The Yankees have had bigger problems during their 11-23 skid — namely poor starting pitching and an inconsistent lineup outside of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto — but Holmes has had a hand in the spiral.
Entering Saturday, Holmes had blown four of his last six save opportunities after securing 19 of 22 save opportunities to start the year.
During this recent stretch, he had posted a 7.15 ERA, giving up nine earned runs on 15 hits and two walks across 11 ¹/₃ innings.
But Holmes retired six of the seven batters he faced on Saturday night with two strikeouts and four groundouts, completing two innings for the first time this season in a game the Yankees needed his best.
“That’s the guy I know,” Judge said. “The more we throw him, the more we get him out there consistently, he’s just going to keep doing his thing. He’s definitely been a horse for us all year, especially early on in the season. Looking forward to more innings like that out of him this year.”
Holmes’ struggles have been just part of a larger issue for the Yankees, who have been scanning the trade market for bullpen help, with Marlins lefties Tanner Scott and Andrew Nardi, along with Rays righty Jason Adam among the potential targets.
While Holmes was much sharper Saturday, opponents have been feasting on his bread-and-butter sinker for most of the season.
Through Friday, opposing batters were hitting .336 with a .449 slugging percentage against the sinker this year.
The pitch has a minus-eight run value, according to Baseball Savant, after being zero in 2023 and nine in 2022.
The Yankees rotation’s struggles over the past six weeks continued on Saturday, as Marcus Stroman lasted just 3 ¹/₃ innings while giving up nine hits and five runs (three earned).
“I was just battling,” Stroman said. “I think my mechanics were off. I don’t think I executed pitches and they did damage. Wasn’t getting my pitches to the edges, was just leaving a lot of pitches over the heart of the plate.”
Oswaldo Cabrera started a second straight game at third base over DJ LeMahieu on Saturday and delivered a home run along with a couple of strong defensive plays.
“Just feel like Cabby’s been having some good at-bats this week,” Boone said.
Despite the sporadic playing time, Cabrera, who hit a solo homer in the second inning, has been producing at the plate of late.
He entered Saturday batting .393 (11-for-28) with a .830 OPS over his past 13 games.
Boone on Saturday morning watched Jasson Dominguez’s at-bats from his first game back at Triple-A on Friday night after missing six weeks with a strained oblique.
As far as Boone knew, Dominguez came through Friday’s game healthy, though he was not in the lineup on Saturday.