New York’s Luke WeaverJason Miller/Getty Photos
The New York Mets had been those from the Massive Apple driving some “Playoff Pumpkin” mojo this October, nevertheless it was the New York Yankees whose magical carriage turned again right into a stinking, rotting gourd Thursday evening in Recreation 3 of their ALCS in opposition to the Cleveland Guardians.
To be abundantly clear, the Yankees are not any Cinderella story.
In Recreation 3, Aaron “$360 Million” Decide and Giancarlo “$325 Million” Stanton went back-to-back within the eighth inning off what had been indisputably one of the best nearer in 2024, Emmanuel Clase, to take that beautiful lead.
If something, the Yankees are the depraved stepmother making an attempt to maintain this 12 months’s true Cinderella from lastly having its ball dance 76 years within the making.
Over the previous six playoff video games main as much as Thursday’s epic implosion, although, the Yankees had a fairy godmother or one thing tricking us all into believing their bullpen was a flawless princess.
New York’s Clay HolmesDustin Satloff/Getty Photos
Properly-established, dominant closers crashed and burned left and proper all through the Wild Card and Division Sequence rounds of the postseason—Devin Williams, Josh Hader, Edwin Díaz and Clase every had a minimum of one meltdown. In the meantime, the Yankees simply stored throwing up zeroes no matter who got here on in reduction.
Those who entered the postseason with a big “BULLPEN” tattooed throughout their resume because the blatantly apparent Achilles’ heel that might be their undoing.
According to FanGraphs, the workforce’s bullpen was value 1.5 WAR from Might twentieth via the tip of the common season, which is twenty third finest within the majors and twelfth finest amongst playoff groups.
12 groups make the MLB postseason.
Earlier than Labor Day, Luke Weaver had not recorded a save since taking part in summer time ball within the Cape Cod League in 2012. However after 4 saves in September, he owned October with 4 saves and a line of seven.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 9 Ok.
Weaver—he of the profession 5.14 ERA via his first eight seasons within the large leagues—solely assumed the position of nearer for the Bronx Bombers as a result of, by Aaron Boone’s personal admission, they wanted to “get creative.”
Clay Holmes had blown extra saves (13) in a single season than any other pitcher within the historical past of monitoring blown saves, posting a 5.14 ERA—Maintain up, did not I simply sort “5.14 ERA” a second in the past about Weaver?—from late Might via early September.
But, via the primary six video games of the postseason, Holmes had been each bit as deadly as Weaver, showing in each sport with two wins and two holds to point out for his 6.2 innings of scoreless work.
Throw in Tommy Kahnle, Tim Hill, and some single-game contributors and the Yankees bullpen entered Recreation 3 in Cleveland with a 0.77 ERA in 23.1 IP.
There was simply one thing about that José Ramírez residence run off Weaver in Recreation 2, although, wasn’t there?
It did not *appear* to imply something for the time being, merely turning a 6-2 sport into what can be the ultimate rating of 6-3. However possibly it was the start of the magic carrying off; the primary spoke of the carriage wheel remodeling again right into a vine.
It seemed as if all hope was misplaced in Cleveland.
Decide and Stanton sucked the life out of the followers at Progressive Area, who have been simply starting to truly consider that, sure, possibly they might come again from the 2-0 collection deficit.
Stephen Vogt challenged whether or not Stanton touched first base throughout his residence run trot, which felt like one of many saddest Hail Mary makes an attempt ever.
That got here after his equally unusual resolution to not simply herald Clase to face Juan Soto in pursuit of a four-out save on 4 days relaxation, contemplating he had a five-out save and a six-out save within the ALDS and left-handed hitters had gone 14-for-122 (.115 AVG) with no residence runs and 4 walks off Clase in the course of the common season, however I digress.
Then, after Weaver fanned David Fry with two on and two out to finish the eighth inning, the Yankees tacked on an insurance coverage run with assist from an error when Anthony Volpe was lifeless to rights in a rundown between second and third.
A couple of minutes later, the Yankees have been up two with two outs and nobody on base within the backside of the ninth.
Their mathematical win chance was 98.5 p.c, however between the circumstances that led to that two-run lead and the way properly Weaver had been dealing over the previous month and a half—that Ramírez solo shot in Recreation 2 was the primary non-“ghost runner” he had allowed to attain since September 2—it felt extra like 100.5 p.c.
However then the wheels got here off.
Lane Thomas smoked a Weaver four-seamer about 17 toes up the 19-foot wall in left-center for a double earlier than Jhonkensy Noel destroyed a changeup that may have hit Santa Claus in his residence on the North Pole.
Statcast put that game-tying residence run at 404 toes, nevertheless it seemed extra like 4,004. That factor was gone straight away, and so was the aura of Weaver serving as some kind of Mariano Rivera clone.
After a very unbelievable defensive play by Andrés Giménez and Josh Naylor stored the Yankees from scoring within the high of the tenth, it was Holmes’ flip to lose his glass slipper, too.
Bo Naylor had been 0-for-14 within the postseason and had not reached base in 22 plate appearances courting again to September 25, however he took the primary pitch that he noticed and ripped a single via the outlet between Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres. After a sacrifice bunt received him to second and a groundout to the pitcher moved him to 3rd, it was Fry’s likelihood at redemption.
Earlier than we get to the dinger, let’s speak about that groundout.
Holmes fielded that ball and checked out Naylor, who was caught in no man’s land between second and third. However as a substitute of operating at him and getting what certainly would have been an out, Holmes simply sort of let him get to 3rd, selecting as a substitute to retire Steven Kwan at first for the second out.
New York Publish Sports activities @nypostsports
Clay Holmes decides to not throw it third and take the out at first as a substitute pic.twitter.com/pwXyorvLxH
The problem is this made Holmes an extremely predictable pitcher.
With the winning run on third base, he was afraid to go to his slider or sweeper—by far the two most effective thirds of his three-pitch arsenal all season—for fear of wild pitching in the walk-off. So he threw Fry four consecutive sinkers, with the fourth one landing in the left-centerfield seats for a walk-off blast.
Two earned runs from Weaver.
Two earned runs from Holmes.
And we didn’t even bother to touch on the fact that Kahnle, Tim Mayza and Ian Hamilton were all over the place before that, combining to walk five of the 15 batters they faced, albeit somehow only allowing one run to score.
In a New York Minute in Cleveland, that entire Yankees bullpen went from impenetrable back to Swiss Cheese.
Granted, they’re still up 2-1, and they did almost as much confidence-destroying damage against that vaunted Guardians bullpen.
After spending New York’s first five postseason games hearing nonstop about Judge’s shortcomings, he has delivered massive home runs in back-to-back games. Stanton’s now up to three key homers of his own. And Soto, Volpe and Torres are all getting on base at a clip of .400 or better.
It’s been 10 games since the Yankees last scored more than six runs in a contest, but it does feel like their offense could just go off on Gavin Williams in Game 4 and probably Tanner Bibee on short rest in Game 5, building up leads the bullpen couldn’t possibly blow and making it back to the World Series for the first time since 2009.
But thanks to the Yankees’ Achilles’ heel we all knew was there all along, this ALCS just went from “Where did I leave that broom?” to “Where’s that gif of The Undertaker popping up out of the casket?”
The Yankees are still favored. Big time. DraftKings has them as -360 favorites to win the ALCS heading into Recreation 4.
But when they blow this lead, properly, that is sort of their factor.
Kerry Miller covers Main League Baseball and males’s faculty basketball for Bleacher Report. You possibly can observe him on X: @KerranceJames
