TAMPA ¨C It was right here just a handful of weeks ago that Devin Williams and his ¡°Airbender¡± changeup were a must-see attraction for Yankees players and coaches, who gathered on a practice diamond atthe George M. Steinbrenner Field complex for their first looks at one of baseball¡¯s most devastating offerings.
It did not fail to impress, yet Williams¡¯ first month of regular-season duty as the club¡¯s new closer has been bumpier than anyone expected. Assigned to protect a four-run lead in the ninth inning on Saturday, Williams faltered, coughing up the advantage in a 10-8 loss to the Rays decided by Jonathan Aranda¡¯s walk-off homer an inning later.
¡°A four-run lead, you¡¯d like to get in and get out,¡± Williams said. ¡°I made some good pitches, made some bad ones. Not enough good ones today.¡±
The stunning ending snapped the Yankees¡¯ five-game winning streak. Tampa Bay did not lead until the final pitch, a Yoendrys G¨®mez fastball that Aranda slugged over the wall in right field.
The outing should have been light work for Williams, a two-time National League Reliever of the Year who was acquired from the Brewers on Dec. 13. In fact, the Yanks¡¯ win expectancy stood at 99.4% when Williams induced a Kameron Misner groundout with his third pitch.
Those odds shifted dramatically over the next several minutes. Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera committed a throwing error on Jos¨¦ Caballero¡¯s one-out ground-ball single to send Caballero to second, ahead of a five-pitch walk to No. 9 hitter Ben Rortvedt.
Chandler Simpson connected for his first Major League hit, a run-scoring ground-rule double to deep left, and Yandy D¨ªaz followed with an infield single to shortstop Anthony Volpe that brought in another run. Soon, it was anyone¡¯s game.
¡°They put some good at-bats together at the end,¡± said Aaron Judge, who had three hits and three RBIs. ¡°That¡¯s what the Rays have always done. They put the ball in play, they make things happen. We just couldn¡¯t close this one out.¡±
Brandon Lowe tied the game with a two-run single off Williams, who has allowed nine runs (eight earned) across his first eight innings as a Yankee (9.00 ERA).
¡°I¡¯d like to have that one back,¡± Williams said of the pitch to Lowe. ¡°Tough luck on the [Simpson] double down the line, but aside from that, I thought I threw the ball pretty well.¡±
Lowe said that his plan was to anticipate the changeup, which Williams has used 56.4% of the time this year (up from 45% last year).
¡°Guys tend to gravitate toward their best pitch. He's got one of the best changeups in the game,¡± Lowe said. ¡°[So you are] just understanding that that's going to be the pitch that he goes to."
Indeed, the Airbender remains Williams¡¯ most trusted weapon, a pitch that bears some qualities of a knuckleball, though he¡¯s still in the process of fine-tuning it.
¡°We¡¯ve got a long way to go; it¡¯s a little bump here early,¡± Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. ¡°He¡¯s got all the equipment to get through it.¡±
Williams had four consecutive scoreless appearances before Saturday, but mixed into his numbers are a shaky Opening Day save against his former club, a walk-off loss to the Pirates and a three-run outing against the Tigers in which he had to be bailed out by Mark Leiter Jr.
Opponents are 6-for-21 (.286) off Williams¡¯ changeup, including three hits Saturday. He has a 22.4% whiff rate and a 16.7% K rate on the pitch, with a .486 expected slugging percentage. That¡¯s a drastic shift from 2024, when opponents hit .162 with a 48.8% whiff rate, a 51.2% K rate and a .161 xSLG.
Asked why that might be, Williams replied: ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe using it too much, to be honest with you. So we¡¯ll work on that.¡±
Though Luke Weaver was dominant in locking down a save Friday, his second of the season, Williams¡¯ closer role appears secure.
Weaver excelled as a fill-in last September and October in place of Clay Holmes. But the Yankees have made it clear the ninth innings will continue to belong to Williams, banking on a career resume that included two NL All-Star selections and a 1.86 career ERA entering this season.
¡°We went out and got him for a reason. He¡¯s the best closer in the game,¡± Judge said. ¡°We¡¯ve got a long season. This guy is going to save a lot of ballgames for us and help us out. I¡¯m not worried at all. He knows what he needs to do. He¡¯ll go out there and figure it out.
¡°Everybody in this room, we want him coming out of the bullpen ¨C especially in a tight game, close game, guys on base, not on base. That¡¯s who we want on the mound. Nobody in here is worried. He¡¯s going to get the job done.¡±