Entering Wednesday's series finale against the Angels, Yankees manager Aaron Boone wouldn't admit if Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, his top two relievers, were available if the team needed them, but it was fairly obvious that they weren't.
Weaver had pitched two of the last three games and the same was the case for Williams, the latter throwing 19 pitches in a shaky save situation on Tuesday night.
So, how did Boone and the Yankees finish off a 1-0 win for the three-game sweep? By utilizing their bullpen depth, including Mark Leiter Jr.
But the Yankees skipper admitted after the win that he was also trying to stay away from Leiter, but the situation of the game called for it.
"I was going to use Mark tonight, but I actually wanted to get him a little bit of rest, too," Boone said. "
So, it was only going to be a save only. Obviously, Clarke [Schmidt] put us in a really good position there, giving us six really stellar Innings. And then, it is really encouraging to see [Ian Hamilton] come in and get five big outs for us, and then [Tim] Hill, coming in and getting a lefty on the ground with one pitch. Great job by the whole pitching staff and the defense tonight and making one run stand up."
"You gotta just stay in the moment, stay with the same thing that got you in that spot," Leiter said. "With a couple of guys down, you know it’s your turn and go and get the job done."
As Boone laid out, Schmidt pitched six scoreless while the combination of Hamilton and HIll got the next six outs. But with just a one-run lead, Leiter was the name called to get the final three outs.
When asked why he chose Leiter to close out the game — having just eight career saves entering Wednesday — Boone pointed to his reliever's demeanor and improved arsenal.
"He's super competitive. The bigger the spot, the more he thrives," he said. "Whether you get a result or not, he's fearless out there, and stuff's been good all year with the better velocity with the sinker.
He's using the curveball really effectively, and then obviously the splitter. Just a really good job there by him after [Jo] Adell smokes that first pitch of the inning off him. We get a big out there, and then he goes to work."
Adell smashed a first-pitch sinker from Leiter right at third baseman Jorbit Vivas for the first out of the ninth. The ball went 12.7 mph off the bat and could have easily rattled the right-hander. But Leiter settled down to get Taylor Ward striking out on three pitches for the second out. Jorge Soler worked a walk after being behind in the count 1-2 but Leiter didn't falter.
That set up the dangerous Logan O'Hoppe as the winning run. Leiter got ahead 0-2 and after some splitters out of the zone, he got O'Hoppe looking on a curveball off the plate — helped by J.C. Escarra's framing — to end the game.
"Soler had some good takes for it. Good at-bat by him," Leiter said. "[As for O'Hoppe] Just getting ahead and giving us a chance of having a couple of shots to put him away. Any time you can win a game, especially when it’s a 1-0 game. It’s tight, everyone pitched well. One more guy’s got to do their job. That’s where we’re at."
Wednesday's save was the culmination of how far the trust in Leiter has come for Boone and the Yankees after they acquired him from the Cubs at last year's trade deadline. He pitched to a 4.98 ERA in 21 appearances with the Yankees last season and was left off the postseason roster to start. But after some bullpen injuries, Leiter was added and stepped up.
In six postseason appearances, he pitched to a 1.69 ERA, including getting six outs during the World Series without allowing a run.
"He ended up being really good for us and in the biggest of moments," Boone said of Leiter. "
Last year was a little bit up and down in those final couple months, but he had some good moments in there and then finished really strong in the postseason for us when he got on the roster. I think we noticed this year that the stuff was crisper. More life to the sinker; he's up, probably two, three miles an hour with that pitch, which is allowing his breaking ball and splitter to play even a little bit better."
According to Statcast, Leiter ranks in the 94 percentile in exit velocity (85.5 mph), whiff percentage (34.5), strikeout percentage (35.9) and hard-hit percentage (28.8) after Wednesday's performance.
Leiter's second save this season also proved that the Yankees bullpen isn't just about Weaver and Williams, and Leiter can be a big piece to the Yankees' pursuit of a World Series this year.
