Riding on a 7-game winning streak, the New York Yankees hosted the Seattle Mariners in the four-game series, with the series opener being held on Monday. The Yanks were cruising through as usual after Marcus Stroman pitched a gem of a 7.1 innings start wherein he leaked just 1 run.
The New York Yankees seemed on the cusp of extending their winning steak as one of the finest closers of the season, Clay Holmes was summoned from the bullpen to defend a three-run lead. While the team and the fans were confident, Holmes surprisingly, ended up having a horrific night for the first time this season.
Clay Homes’ 20-Games Scoreless Streaks Ends Vs Mariners
The New York Yankees’ ace reliever Clay Holmes, who had been a pillar of consistency and reliability throughout the season, saw his impressive run halted, marking a rare blemish in an otherwise stellar campaign. On Monday, Marcus Stroman pitched a remarkable 7.1 innings start, giving up just 1 earned run in 3 hits. The Yanks had 3 runs lead when closer Clay Holmes was summoned from the pen. Entering Monday, Holmes’ had a 20-game scoreless streak, the second longest in Yanks history, Dellin Betances’ 26-game streak in 2015. Holmes had also stacked up 13 savers to become a vital part of the Yanks’ defense. However, the Mariners exploited Clay’s sinker-slider combo to steal as many as four runs in the ninth inning.
The Mariners finished with a 5-4 win to end the New York Yankees as well as Clay Holmes’ invincible streak. That being said, Holmes conceded defeat for the first time this season and rightfully shouldered the blame. “Yeah. That’s on me. One of those outings where I felt my stuff wasn’t there,” said Holmes in a post-game interview. The relief pitcher admitted that he needs to expand his arsenal to escape beating in the latter half of the season. Besides, manager Aaron Boone backed Clay, saying the Mariners put together some good at-bats, and it was just one of those nights where everything went against Clay. Regardless, Stroman’s gem of a start was enough to lower the Yanks’ rotation ERA to 0.86. And with the four-game series still wide open, the Yanks will step out at the Yankee Stadium on Tuesday to equalize things.
Aaron Judge Empathised With Clay Holmes After Brutal Yankees Loss
Clay Holmes blew up a save for the first time this season as the New York Yankees went down 5-4 against the Seattle Mariners. Holmes gave up four earned runs in four hits to end his 20-game scoreless streak. However, Yankee captain Aaron Judge backed Clay, saying that these slip-ups were bound to happen at some stage.
While he surely didn’t enjoy Clay Holmes getting beaten up like that, it was a learning curve for the relief pitcher, who still has a long way to go in the season. Overall, Aaron Judge considers Holmes one of the best closers in the league who just happened to have a bad day at the office.
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