Aaron Judge’s locker, in the far left corner of the Yankees’ clubhouse, commands by far the most daily attention, particularly as uncertainty hovers over when he can return from his sprained right toe.
So too do Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton’s lockers on either side of him in the back, as the team’s recognized stars and leaders.
But it’s the tight-knit group on the opposite side of the room — in the front on the right-hand side — that has served as the team’s backbone through the early stages of the season.
Their lockers are unsurprisingly situated next to each other.
They belong to Clay Holmes, Michael King, Wandy Peralta, Ron Marinaccio and others who make up the Yankees’ dominant bullpen.
“People can pitch in any situation and we know that,” Holmes told The Post. “We’re all confident. We all feed off each other. We all help each other. It’s a tight group. I think we realize that and we kind of just stay ready for whatever. We know that when our matchups come up, we need to be ready. We all take pride in doing our job. If it’s not us, we have full confidence in the guy next to us.”
The Yankees’ bullpen has a combined 2.85 ERA, the best mark in MLB entering Monday.
The .213 batting average their relievers have surrendered is also the best in the league.
Despite a scuffling offense that has struggled without Judge, the Yankees went 4-2 on their recently completed homestand, scoring just 13 runs in the four wins.
Yankees relievers pitched 12 ¹/₃ innings in those wins and surrendered just two runs.
Cole was supposed to give the unit a break Sunday and work deep into the game with Holmes, Peralta and Tommy Kahnle unavailable.
He turned in his shortest outing in over a year, however, tossing just 4 ²/₃ innings.
But even without their top options, there was the Yankees’ bullpen once again to shut the door.
King, Marinaccio, Nick Ramirez and Jimmy Coredro combined to pitch 4 ¹/₃ shutout innings.
“Just the versatility. Just the mentality down there,” Marinaccio told The Post. “Guys not really being scared of any situation. The differences and stuff we have, it gives a different look. Everybody that’s coming out of the bullpen, you’re not gonna get the same look every inning. That makes it tougher for the other lineup to get into a rhythm once we come into the game.”
Holmes in particular has re-emerged as the most important piece of the unit.
After a rough beginning to the season, which followed concerning struggles to finish last season, Holmes has in recent weeks looked like the dominant closer he was the first half of last season.
He’s allowed just two runs in his last 22 outings, striking out 28 batters in 22 ¹/₃ innings pitched.
Most importantly, Holmes’ calling card — his slider — has looked like it used to.
“Obviously, I had a really good stretch last year,” Holmes said. “You can say that can be like a blueprint for what my best looks like. But I think more so I know when I’m at my best, we kind of have those parameters [in my mechanics], and I feel like that’s kind of where I’m at now. You just try to take it outing by outing, just stay on top of things.”