ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — On the way to throwing 17 ¹/₃ innings without allowing an earned run this season, Clay Holmes has often been downright dominant.
That was not the case Friday night, but the Yankees closer lived to tell about it.
Holmes lost his sinker command but not the game, leaving the bases loaded to finish off a 2-0 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field.
After walking just one batter through his first 16 appearances of the season, Holmes issued two free passes on Friday, plus a single that loaded the bases with two outs.
But he used a sweeper to strike out Jonny DeLuca — his third punchout of the frame — to lock up his 12th save of the season.
“The slider’s been good all year,” Holmes said. “I think tonight was one of those situations where I had to lean on it a little more. The sinker, the movement was there but just wasn’t quite commanding it like I had been. … Sometimes they clip the edges, sometimes they don’t. I had to lean on the slider because of that and made some pitches with the slider.”
Manager Aaron Boone had Ian Hamilton warming in the bullpen, but said he only would have gone to him if Holmes’ pitch count got out of hand.
Instead, his 34th pitch of the night ended the game.
“I was riding him,” Boone said. “I would have given him one more hitter too.”
When Boone gave Ron Marinaccio the news Thursday night that he was being optioned back to Triple-A, the Yankees reliever “was upset, understandably,” according to the manager.
Marinaccio was throwing the ball well, lowering his ERA to 1.42 with a scoreless ninth inning Thursday against the Astros, but he was the Yankees’ odd man out to make room for Nick Burdi, who was activated from the injured list Friday.
Rather than having to send out a different arm and risk losing them on waivers, the Yankees optioned Marinaccio to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to maintain as much pitching depth as possible.
“That’s a tough conversation to have,” Boone said. “Ron’s in a really good place throwing the ball and obviously he’s performed well. … Anytime you’re sending a performing player down, and a guy that’s performed in the past for you too and you know is capable, that’s a difficult thing to do and conversation to have. But confident he’ll be an important part of us moving forward as the season unfolds.”
Gerrit Cole threw off flat ground and will throw a bullpen session on Saturday at Tropicana Field, his third since being shut down with elbow nerve inflammation and edema.
He will then stay back in Tampa to throw another bullpen session at the club’s pitching lab “and do some biokinetic stuff.”
DJ LeMahieu (non-displaced foot fracture) also made the trip and will remain back in Tampa when the Yankees head to Minnesota after this series, with the expectation that he will soon advance to facing live pitching.
At the Yankees’ player development complex on Friday morning, Jasson Dominguez (UCL surgery) took fly balls in the outfield and then threw from about 90 feet. He is expected to throw to bases on Saturday for the first time in his rehab process. Dominguez is on track to begin a rehab assignment later this month, set to come back first as a DH.
Scott Effross (back surgery, Tommy John rehab) was also there playing catch.
Boone on ex-Yankee Clint Frazier signing with the Atlantic League Charleston Dirty Birds: “Credit to him for going and continuing his quest. But you never close the book on a guy with a lot of talent.”
The Yankees transferred Oswald Peraza’s rehab assignment to Double-A Somerset on Friday. The infielder went 2-for-5 with a home run and two walks in his first two rehab games with Single-A Tampa.
