Yankees’ closer role could be flux amid Blue Jays series

While Max Fried’s first month with the New York Yankees is going well, Devin Williams is experiencing a rough time in his initial weeks for his new team.

Fried will be on the mound Saturday afternoon when the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays. Now, if there is a save situation for New York, whoever is on the mound in the ninth inning will be a storyline.

The Yankees are 1-3 in their past four games, and they took a 4-2 loss on Friday when Williams did not retire a batter and allowed a go-ahead two-run double to Alejandro Kirk in the ninth. Williams, acquired in December from the Milwaukee Brewers for Nestor Cortes, blew his first save in five chances and has an 11.25 ERA in his first 10 appearances.

“Truthfully, I don’t know,” Williams said. “It’s something I’ve been battling for most of the season. So it’s getting pretty frustrating.”

Following the defeat, New York manager Aaron Boone declined to say if he was considering a change at closer. He has a readymade option if he wants to make a switch: Setup man Luke Weaver has two saves and a 0.00 ERA through 11 outings this year, and he handled the closer role in the final month of last season.

“We’ll kind of talk through that stuff,” Boone said. “This is raw right now. We want to do everything we can to get (Williams) right because we know how good he is and how valuable he’s going to be for us.”

Fried (4-0, 1.42 ERA) is rolling in the opening weeks of eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees. Since allowing six runs (two earned) over 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Milwaukee Brewers on March 29, Fried is 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his past four outings.

Fried turned in his second scoreless outing this season when he allowed two hits in a season-high 7 2/3 innings against the host Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He got a season-high 13 groundball outs and threw 102 pitches.

Fried is 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA in three career starts against Toronto. He last faced the Blue Jays last Sept. 6, when he allowed one run, which was unearned, on five hits in seven innings in a game when he fanned eight and got 16 groundball outs.

The Blue Jays stopped a season-high, five-game losing streak by getting enough hits after going 9-for-90 and getting swept in a three-game series at Houston.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered on Friday, and Kirk, Addison Barger and Nathan Lukes each had two of Toronto’s nine hits.

“It feels great. I needed it and the team needed it,” Kirk said through an interpreter after his sixth multi-hit game of the season. “I’m very happy, just very happy about it.”

Toronto’s Kevin Gausman (2-2, 3.16 ERA) starts on Saturday in the middle game of a three-game series. He is coming off allowing a season-worst four runs on six hits in six innings during a 7-0 loss at Houston on Monday. Gausman struck out six, and he has fanned 22 in his past three outings after not getting a strikeout April 4 against the Mets in New York.

Gausman is 10-9 with a 3.63 ERA in 35 career appearances (29 starts) against the Yankees. Last season, he went 0-2 with a 9.98 ERA in four starts against the Yankees, who slugged five homers against him in 15 1/3 innings.

–Field Level Media