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Yankees need to stop treating a 0.64 ERA like a fluke
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- Yankees need to stop treating a 0.64 ERA like a fluke
Yerry De los Santos pitches for the Yankees in Toronto.
The Yankees won a tight 3-1 game in Baltimore on Monday, and Yerry De los Santos gave them two of the cleanest innings of the night. He faced seven hitters, allowed one hit, and kept the Orioles off the board.
That outing pushed De los Santos to a 0.64 ERA across 14 innings. He has allowed one earned run, struck out 11, and issued five walks in 10 appearances. For a bullpen that gets picked apart after every rough night, that is a real chunk of useful work.
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I would not rush him into the ninth inning because of one good stat line. But the Yankees are past the point where he should only appear when the game has already settled into a comfortable lane.
Yerry De los Santos works an inning at Fenway Park.
Yankees should see what Yerry De los Santos can do in tighter spots
There is a middle ground between mop-up duty and handing a reliever the final three outs. The Yankees can use De los Santos in the sixth or seventh with a runner on base, especially when a starter leaves before the game is decided. Those are the innings that tell you whether a useful arm belongs in the October conversation.
De los Santos has earned that look with strikes and clean contact management. The 11 strikeouts are fine, but the more useful sign is that he has not been giving away big innings. He has limited the damage when hitters reach base.
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The bullpen has plenty of bigger names. It also has a long season ahead, and the staff cannot keep acting as if every meaningful out has to belong to the same two or three relievers. De los Santos has put himself in the next group. The Yankees should use that information.
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