ANAHEIM, Calif. — Devin Williams’ first two months with the New York Yankees have been a roller coaster ride, and his first save in nearly six weeks was full of even more thrills and chills.
Williams gave up two runs and three hits in the ninth inning, but the former All-Star closer persevered and finished the Yankees’ 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
After retiring pinch-hitter Logan O’Hoppe on a foul popup with a runner on first to end it, Williams chose to see the cleaner side of another messy evening.
“I mean, at the end of the day, we won,” Williams said. “That’s all that matters.”
The Yankees acquired Williams from Milwaukee last winter to be a major component of their bullpen, but he’s still adjusting to the bright lights of Broadway. Williams had a handful of rocky outings in his first month, culminating on April 25 when he blew a save by giving up three runs in the ninth to Toronto at Yankee Stadium, his ERA ballooning to 11.25.
Williams lost his job as the Yankees’ closer after that, but he has found his form over the past three weeks, making eight consecutive scoreless appearances and allowing just three hits.
That gave manager Aaron Boone enough confidence to go to Williams at the Big A for his first save opportunity since late April — particularly because Luke Weaver had pitched in five of the previous seven games.
It didn’t seem like a high-leverage spot, either: The Yankees had a 3-0 lead, and the Angels hadn’t scored in 16 consecutive innings.
Williams repeatedly was one pitch away from another disaster in Anaheim, but Boone claimed to be satisfied by the result.
“Not worried about it,” Boone said. “In the end, you bend, don’t break. There’s a lot that you take away from that outing. But the reality is he’s throwing the ball really well. They put a couple of good swings on him tonight, but that’s part of it.”
Williams immediately gave up a leadoff homer to Yoán Moncada on a changeup that caught too much of the plate. Taylor Ward singled, Travis d’Arnaud hit a screaming 104.9-mph flyout to center, and Luis Rengifo singled to put runners on the corners with one out.
But Williams came through to earn his fifth save of the season.
After Ward scored when Jo Adell grounded into a forceout, Williams fell behind 3-0 to O’Hoppe. The promising catcher unexpectedly swung at a high fastball out of the strike zone and popped it into foul territory near the Angels’ dugout.
“I didn’t think he’d be swinging there, to be honest,” Williams said. “Kind of did me a favor.”
Williams is new to New York, but he knows all about the perils of his chosen profession. He ended his Brewers career by blowing a two-run lead in the ninth inning of the decisive Game 3 in the NL wild-card series against the Mets — and then he was booed in the Bronx just 18 pitches into his Yankees career when he nearly blew a win on opening day.
“You just keep going,” Williams said. “The game isn’t over. We didn’t lose yet. It’s pretty simple.”
Williams’ ninth inning was a dramatic finish to an outstanding night for Carlos Rodón, who pitched seven scoreless innings of five-hit ball with 10 strikeouts and no walks. The Yankees issued no walks for the first time this season.
Williams’ struggles are a minor inconvenience in another strong start for the defending AL champions. New York (34-20) has won four straight and 15 of 19 with seven consecutive series victories, surging to a seven-game lead in the AL East in May for the first time since 1998.
“That’s a heck of a job by Devin to hang in,” Rodón said. “They made some good swings, and the ninth is a different animal. It’s really hard to get the last three outs of the game. I thought he hung in. I thought he did great and still shut (them) down and got the save.”
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