After Clay Holmes’ uncharacteristic meltdown on Tuesday night, Aaron Boone was asked after the game if he was worried about a potential workload issue for his All-Star closer, and if he was concerned about Holmes trending downward after also allowing a hit and a walk in his last outing against the Red Sox.
He also didn't express much concern with Holmes' innings, which stand at 39.1 and mainly on pace for the 70 he pitched last year.
“I don’t think so,” Boone said. “I would quibble with that he struggled in his last outing. He walked [Xander] Bogaerts and put a ball on the ground and then 1-2-3 in the ninth. I think this is an outlier.
“We’ll certainly pay attention to it, but I don’t think it was anything more than him just being out of whack tonight.”
Holmes wound up being hit with the blown save in his last outing before Tuesday night, but otherwise pitched 1.1 scoreless frames. On Tuesday, he was hit with four earned runs without being able to record an out, turning a 3-0 Yankee lead into a stunning 4-3 loss.
But Boone kept with his closer as long as he could, still believing he could escape the rally.
“One pitch away from putting him on the ground, that’s what we were counting on,” Boone said. “That’s what you’re counting on.”
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