Why The Yankees Bullpen Can Shove Their Way Towards The World Series
The New York Yankees say farewell to the Kansas City Royals as they head to the ALCS and potentially towards their covered 28th championship. They have been the expected favorites to headline the World Series and represent the American League. The offense has left much to be desired. With the struggles of captain Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton has been the primary factor in picking the team up offensively. The performance of the Yankees' bullpen is the key factor contributing to this postseason success, and a significant consideration for the team's future to survive the rest of the way.
The Yankees Bullpen Has Been A Powerhouse In ALDS
Against the Kansas City Royals, the New York bullpen has been nothing short of impressive, and a threat in the postseason. In 15 2/3 innings, the bullpen has allowed exactly zero earned runs throughout the four games. The Royals had no answer for Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, Luke Weaver, and the other of the Yankees' relievers. The Bullpen held the Royals to a .143 batting average throughout the series, with 15 strikeouts and four walks.
Saying the bullpen has been lights out would be a complete understatement to how the relievers have been playing this series. The only scoring that they've allowed was after an error thrown by Anthony Volpe in game one of the ALDS, when Tim Hill was pitching in the sixth inning. Outside of that error, the bullpen had completely shut down the lineup. Despite their loss in game two of the series, the relievers threw 5 1/3 innings of scoreless Royals baseball. The Royals could not get anything on the board after scoring off of Carlos Rodon early on.
The bullpen held it down for New York in a crucial game three that would swing the pendulum toward the Yankees. The New York offense was nowhere to be seen, as they only had four hits throughout the entire game. It was thanks to Giancarlo Stanton’s 3-5 performance that the Bronx Bombers got on the scoreboard. With the offense nowhere to be seen, it was up to the bullpen to help lock down the one-run lead. The combination of Kahnle, Holmes, and Weaver limited the Royals lineup to two hits, one walk, one strikeout, and zero earned runs.
The Yankees’ relievers were able to close out the series in game four after a fantastic outing by Gerrit Cole. Cole allowed only one run in seven innings and four strikeouts. The bullpen finished the job and allowed no runs to send the Yankees into the Championship Series.
Clayoff Holmes
Clay Holmes has been a concerning conversation topic amongst the Yankees roster heading into the postseason. While he had a strong outing to open the 2024 season, Holmes struggled to get out of his horrible play, allowing 13 blown saves in the regular season. Holmes was removed as the closer option, and placed into more of a middle reliever position, which has looked to be an improvement in Holmes’ outings.
With the pressure off of his to keep the lead, Holmes has been able to shut out the Royals batters in the innings he has pitched. He looked calmer in the middle relief position compared to being closer. Holmes had three strikeouts and allowed only three hits in the four games he played in throughout the series. He has looked to have regained trust amongst the team and the fans. His outings no longer give fans “heart attacks,” as they previously described, and has become a trustworthy bullpen arm./
The Pinstripes’ Bullpen Is Crucial For The ALCS
The Bronx Bombers are now gearing up to face the Cleveland Guardians in the Championship Series. The Guardians are a better offensive postseason team than the Royals, but only slightly. The Guardians have a batting average of .238 and an OPS of .638 going into the next round. The Royals ended their postseason journey with a batting average of .231 and an OPS of .578. The Guardians do have offensive threats in their lineup, with Steven Kwan (.524 BA), Lane Thomas (.316 with two home runs), and Jose Ramirez (.188 BA with one home run, but still a threat to face), but the Yankees have the momentum on their side.
Fans can only hope the New York bullpen can take their momentum from the previous series, and into this one, to completely shut out the Guardians offense. If the Boys In Pinstripes can completely shut down the Guardians similarly to what they did to the Royals, their path to the World Series is there for the taking.
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