NEW YORK (AP) — Clay Holmes walked onto the Yankee Stadium mound to boos in the 10th inning. Six pitches later, fans cheered as he returned to the dugout.
A week after losing his closer’s role, Holmes threw six pitches — all for strikes — and got the win as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Thursday night behind Juan Soto’s walk-off single in the 10th inning.
A two-time All-Star, Holmes (5-3) has triggered fan fury by blowing 12 saves in 41 chances. He gave up a game-ending grand slam to Texas rookie Wyatt Langford on Sept. 3 and wasted a seventh-inning lead against Kansas City on Wednesday before New York won on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s 11th-inning single.
Teammates have propped his psyche.
“This is a fun place to play. We kind of know what we’re playing for here and it’s an atmosphere that I think that just gets the best out of everybody and obviously your want to come through,” he said. “Winning here is the special.”
Gleyber Torres homered off Cooper Criswell leading off the first inning and Danny Jansen went deep against Nestor Cortes starting the fifth.
Tommy Kahnle, the fourth of five Yankees pitchers who combined on a four-hitter, relieved to start the ninth and escaped a two-on, one-out jam by striking out Trevor Story and retiring Triston Casas on a flyout.
With an automatic runner on second starting the 10th, Kahlne retired Wilyer Abreu on a first-pitch flyout, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone brought in Holmes.
“I think he wants the ball and is confident, rightfully so, in what he can do out there,” Boone said. “Despite some of the things that have gone on or some of the outings that have gotten away, I really like his frame of mind and his ability to handle those inevitable ups and downs.”
Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out on an outside slider and Jarren Duran flied out on a high, inside sweeper.
Soto then hit a game-ending single against Josh Winckowski (4-2) leading off the bottom half to give the Yankees consecutive walk-off wins for the first time since May 8 and 9, 2021, against Washington.
“When he came onto the field, it was kind of mixed feelings,” Cortes assessed fan reaction to Holmes before recounting a conversation he had last week with catcher Jose Trevino. “When we’re going to need Clay the most, he’s going to come through for us whether it’s the seventh, whether the eighth, whether it’s the ninth, whether it’s an extra-inning game, Clay has it in him.”
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