A roaring Yankee Stadium crowd rose in unison as Devin Williams approached the dugout.
Williams had just completed his first four-out appearance of the year, preserving a three-run lead against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the ALDS, as the Yankees turned to closer David Bednar with one out in the eighth inning.
The ovation did not go unnoticed.
“It’s nice to feel appreciated sometimes,” Williams said after the Yankees’ 9-6 win on Tuesday night. “It was definitely a lot better than what I’ve heard for much of the year.”
Indeed, Williams endured a difficult debut season with the Yankees, who acquired the two-time National League Reliever of the Year last winter in a trade that sent starter Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Williams, 31, pitched to a career-high 4.79 ERA in the regular season and twice was removed from the Yankees’ closer role, including in August in favor of Bednar.
But Williams ended the season with nine consecutive scoreless outings, and he carried that run of redemption into the playoffs. Game 3 marked Williams’ third straight scoreless outing of the postseason and his 12th in a row overall.
“My mindset’s never changed throughout this whole year,” Williams said. “I just kept showing up, and I’m getting the results I want right now.”
His Game 3 performance was particularly critical.
With the Yankees on the brink of elimination, starter Carlos Rodón lasted only 2.1 innings and surrendered six runs.
But five relievers — Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Tim Hill, Williams and Bednar — combined to throw 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing the Yankees’ offense to rally back from a five-run deficit.
Williams navigated the heart of the Blue Jays’ order — Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk and Daulton Varsho — in a 1-2-3 seventh, then allowed a single to Ernie Clement to lead off the eighth before striking out Anthony Santander.
“This is the time when you’re going to need [extra length] every now and then,” manager Aaron Boone said of Williams. “He was efficient in his inning in the seventh there, so I knew for sure I wanted him to go out and face Clement.
“And then if he was efficient, [catcher Austin Wells] and I talked about giving him Santander, too. And the fact that Clement gets another hit, but he’s able to make a couple of really good pitches to get the strikeout of Santander, which was big. That shortened it a little bit for Bednar.”
Williams threw 26 pitches to get four outs, while Bednar needed only 21 to get the final five.
“Light’s out,” Bednar said of Williams. “It’s been fun to watch.”
Williams posted an ERA of 2.50 or lower in each of the previous five seasons, but the small-market Brewers traded him last offseason because he was entering his final year of team control.
The right-hander tied his career high with four blown saves (in 22 chances) this season, while his six losses set a career high.
But Williams ended the regular season with six consecutive holds, then earned the win in the Yankees’ 4-3 victory in Game 2 of the Wild Card round against the Boston Red Sox last week.
Tuesday’s 1.1-inning outing marked Williams’ first time recording more than three outs in a game since 2023.
“Devin’s great,” Hill said. “I always knew that, even through his struggles. This game’s hard, but I knew that Devin was the man, and he’s been amazing.”
