CHICAGO — Clay Holmes brought his best stuff to a new inning.
Pitching for the first time since losing sole possession of the closer’s job Tuesday, Holmes got the eighth inning of Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field and breezed through it with a pair of strikeouts.
Facing the top of the Cubs order, Holmes needed just 12 pitches to retire the side, looking much sharper than he did Tuesday when he lost his delivery and command on the way to his 11th blown save of the season.
“Clay was good,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Good feel of his sinker and slider, used them both. Both pitches were sharp. He was sharp. For the most part, got ahead. … I thought he looked really good.”
Holmes had warmed up Saturday in the bottom of the eighth inning in a game the Yankees led 2-0 but did not enter as Nestor Cortes finished off the final 4 ¹/₃ innings.