Clay Holmes heard some blame and criticism for his role in Sunday’s ninth-inning disaster, allowing two walks to set up two crippling defensive blunders by Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo in an eventual walk-off win for the Orioles.
Despite the “horrific” loss, Evan says Holmes was getting too much heat for Sunday, as he gave the Yankees “five outs” to win the game and go into the All-Star break in first place in the American League East. Instead, two of the team’s most reliable defenders had uncharacteristic flops.
“I exonerate Clay Holmes…how many outs is he supposed to get?” Evan said.
“Clay Holmes is one of the better options in Major League Baseball to get the final three outs…Clay Holmes is not perfect, and ideally, he’s not issuing two walks in the ninth inning. But he got the third out. He got the fourth out.”
Tiki sees Holmes as a closer who knows his role and his tendencies as a pitcher, and if fans are expecting an elite strikeout arm, they’re looking in the wrong place. but, if fans expect to see a soft-contact arm who has to navigate traffic and usually come out unscathed, then they’ve come to the right place. But in the heat of October, that could be panic inducing, and the Yanks will need bullpen help.
“I can’t look at Clay Holmes and say ‘He is the lockdown closer that wins a championship for this team,’” Evan said.