DETROIT — Devin Williams has not made the strongest first impression as the Yankees’ closer.
The former Brewer, acquired over the offseason, now has a 12.00 ERA after nearly blowing the Yankees’ 4-0 lead over the Tigers on Wednesday. The Yankees ultimately prevailed, 4-3, after Mark Leiter Jr. relieved Williams and recorded the final out of the game, but the ninth inning came with drama nonetheless.
“I was just trying to be ready for whatever was called upon us and come in and do a job,” Leiter said, adding that there will be plenty of times this season when Williams will be the one picking the team up. “You guys gotta take it easy. He’s the best closer in baseball, period.”
A lot of people would agree with Leiter, who got the save, as Williams won two Reliever of the Year awards with Milwaukee. The Yankees just haven’t seen that pitcher over what remains a very small sample.
On Wednesday, Williams’ trouble began with a leadoff walk to Spencer Torkelson. He then recorded consecutive strikeouts, but Torkelson advanced to second on defensive indifference. Torkelson then moved to third on a Javier Báez single before scoring on a wild pitch.
Following another walk and another defensive indifference, Zack McKinstry lined a soft two-run single to right field, plating two. With that, Williams exited before Leiter induced a flyout.
Afterward, Williams acknowledged that he hasn’t been himself.
“I’m still figuring stuff out,” he said. “I haven’t felt like 100% myself up to this point, but I would say I’m getting closer, for sure.”
Williams clarified that he is “fine” physically. He attributed his struggles to poor execution and not getting ahead in counts. He’d like to have more command of his fastball and signature changeup.
“If I’m locating, the problems solve themselves,” Williams said.
Aaron Boone said that he believes Williams is “close” as well, and he even noticed an uptick in velocity from the righty “when needed” on Wednesday. However, deep counts and the Tigers’ patience took their toll.
Williams also said that he hasn’t gotten many game reps. Wednesday was his fourth appearance of the year, as the Yankees didn’t need their closer in some high-scoring games out of the gate. Williams then went on paternity leave for a few days.
Boone raised that point as well.
“He hasn’t had a lot of work,” the manager said. “I mean, that’s part of it, too. So hopefully we get in the flow, but I’m confident this is going to be a distant memory as we continue to move forward, because he’s not that far off. Just a little bit better strike throwing, and once he starts doing that and starts dictating counts, then you’re going to see it.”
Finally, Williams noted that he has struggled in the early going in the past.
He’s correct, as he entered Wednesday with a 3.03 career ERA in March/April. That’s his worst ERA in any month and significantly higher than his 1.96 career ERA.
“It’s hard as a reliever to do stuff in between outings,” Williams said. “This isn’t the first time I’ve started a season off on the wrong foot, but all you can do is keep working.”
Regardless of the calendar, Boone isn’t worried. With some time, he fully expects Williams to be the air-bending weapon he’s always been.
“He’ll be fine,” Boone said. “He’ll get through this. Just the early part of the season.”
