The Yankees made a statement in their two-game Wild Card sweep of the Red Sox, and for two nights in a row they did it in ugly fashion for Boston. New York piled up an 18-2 edge across the series, turning both games into routs. Still, one National League scout walked away with a lingering question: how much trust do the Yankees really have in their bullpen?
“Yankees look formidable,” the scout said. “The left handed weakness question appeared answered.
This is a team built for the bright lights offensively. However, one telling sign was their fear of going to the bullpen.
“Despite good results this year, they let Cam Schlittler go 117 pitches (in Game 1). Really wonder their confidence in the 'pen if they are willing to stretch their ace out that far in the first game of what needs to be a championship or bust season for their front office/coaching staff.”
That concern came into focus in Game 1. Schlittler was already over 100 pitches after the sixth inning, but Aaron Boone sent him back out for the seventh with New York leading 2-0.
He got one out, then gave up a single to Wilyer Abreu and was done for the night. Paul Blackburn took over and handled the next two outs, then returned for a scoreless eighth.
By then the Yankees had blown the game open with five runs in the bottom of the eighth, and John Schreiber finished the ninth with Boston already buried, 9-0.
Game 2 never gave New York much reason to stress its relief corps. Max Fried worked six innings on 98 pitches, allowing one run on a homer, three hits, six strikeouts and one walk.
He left with a 2-1 lead, but the Yankees’ bats slammed the door in the bottom of the sixth with six runs, highlighted by Cody Bellinger’s three-run homer. Will Warren, Brent Headrick and David Bednar covered the final nine outs, but the game was already out of reach.
The Yankees now move on with the bullpen question still hanging in the background. Bednar, Headrick, Blackburn, Warren and possibly Ryan Weathers are the arms New York will be counting on for big outs the rest of the way.
During the regular season, the Yankees ranked second in baseball with a 3.13 bullpen ERA, but their top three relief options - Bednar, Headrick and Blackburn - have already been leaned on heavily. Beyond that group, the margin for error gets thinner fast.
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