Luke Weaver's Game 3 disaster raises questions about the Yankees' workload

CLEVELAND – Luke Weaver returned to Progressive Field on Friday in unfamiliar territory.

Not only had he appeared in all seven of the Yankees' playoff games through Game 4 of the ALCS, he had also recorded the first save of his career.

Weaver's first month in charge as closer had been dominant, but now he had to respond by allowing a devastating, game-winning home run to Jhonkensy Noel in Thursday's Game 3 loss to the Guardians.

“It's tough because you feel like you got a lot of momentum out there, especially me, and then you somehow made it,” Weaver said. “We see it coming from both sides, both teams (Thursday). We've had some big wins with a great finish on their side. It's just baseball. It's off-season right now.

“It’s something I’m not used to, but it’s something I’ll definitely recover from.”

It was the second straight game in which Weaver had given up a home run – Jose Ramirez took him deep for a meaningless solo shot in the ninth inning of Game 2 – after he had previously allowed two home runs in his 28 games.

The sudden damage to Weaver raised questions about whether the heavy workload was starting to catch up with him.

Manager Aaron Boone had asked Weaver to record more than three outs in four of those seven appearances.

Thursday marked the third time Weaver pitched in four days, something he only did once during the regular season (in August).

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He never had to pitch four times in five days.

“I mean, playoffs,” Boone said when asked if Weaver was showing signs of fatigue given his workload. “I thought he was pretty sharp overall. We thank them for making a pitch. Yes, it's that time of year. You try to save as many balls as you can and I thought he threw the ball pretty well overall and they caught him right there.”

The loquacious Weaver declined to take the bait when asked if he was haunted by fumes.

“As for the fumes, I’m not going to answer that,” he said. “I feel like you just show up every day and prepare as best you can. Post-game recovery…making sure I do the things I need to do. Sleep well and come back the next day. I'm not the greatest person in the world, but we all have our stuff that we have to get through.

“It’s playoff baseball, the adrenaline is high. So when you’re on the mound, all you care about is executing and getting things done.”

Weaver was more frustrated with himself because he took a 2-0 lead against Lane Thomas and couldn't hold him off, giving up a double that preceded Noel's blast in a changeup that Weaver said slipped out of his hands .

Although stunning home runs from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton against Emmanuel Clase on Thursday gave Weaver a chance to secure his fifth save of these playoffs, the Yankees could also do better by getting Weaver (and Clay Holmes, who also appeared in each of the first seven playoffs). -games pitched).

With the offense unable to assert itself or take advantage of all the traffic it had generated, Boone had to use Weaver in every game – including two no-save opportunities in a 4-2 loss to the Royals in the ALDS and one 6-2 win over the Guardians in Game 2 of the ALCS.

Creating a little more wiggle room could allow Boone to use different subs to finish a game, which he may be forced to do at some point so he doesn't bring Weaver and Holmes to their knees.

“The workload and everything is what it is,” Weaver said. “Everyone played all season and did their own thing. So there are no excuses and it’s just about doing your job.”