ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Facing the best team in baseball and desperate — at least as desperate as a club can be on May 6 — the Yankees turned to a fledgling major leaguer who is still technically a rookie and had logged a grand total of 14 ²/₃ major league innings entering this season.
And as he has done since showing up in spring training this year, Ian Hamilton delivered.
When manager Aaron Boone needed three more outs as the Yankees clung to a one-run lead Saturday, Hamilton — pitching for the second-straight game and for the third time in four days — threw a scoreless ninth inning for his first career save in a 3-2 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field.
Hamilton watched while Domingo German was grinding through five innings and as Wandy Peralta, Ron Marinaccio and Clay Holmes quieted the powerful Tampa Bay offense from the sixth through eighth.
Holmes, the usual closer, retired the heart of the Rays’ lineup with a sinker that looked sharp. Then, Hamilton got tapped.
“When they called down,” said Hamilton, who had pitched Wednesday and Friday, “I was like, dang. I was surprised.”
He shouldn’t have been.
The Yankees were without Michael King, who is not yet available on back-to-back days.
Jonathan Loaisiga, Lou Trivino and Tommy Kahnle are injured. Their other most-trusted arms already had pitched.
And Hamilton, who lowered his ERA to 1.42, is very much in the mix to be among their most-trusted arms.
There was a bit of drama, when Jose Siri sent Harrison Bader back to the center-field wall for the first out, and Luke Raley lined a two-out double past Anthony Rizzo.
But Hamilton, whose velocity was up despite his recent usage, induced a flyout from Isaac Paredes and pounded his glove twice in celebration.
In reflecting upon the type of weapon he has become, after short, unremarkable stints with the White Sox and Twins — including a 2019 nightmare in which he was drilled in the face by a hard-hit ball while in a minor league dugout, leading to eight surgeries for facial fractures — the 27-year-old thought back to his offseason.
“I tried to keep it almost like a spring training regimen,” said Hamilton, whose “slambio” — a slider and changeup hybrid — has helped turn him into a difference-maker. “Just kind of get up early, do everything in the morning. Relax a little bit, do stuff at night. Just try to keep the body moving the entire offseason.
“I just kept doing stuff every single day. Didn’t matter what day it was — didn’t know what day it was.”
The work and the slambio were evident immediately. In his very first Grapefruit League game, Hamilton threw eight pitches, all strikes, and struck out two in a perfect frame, catching the Yankees’ attention.
Boone saw the same pitcher Saturday, despite the stakes of the moment. Hamilton has proven a revelation and has made it clear he likes being a part of a club that has a history of championships.
“Just trying to get a chance to win, that’s pretty much the biggest part,” Hamilton said about being a Yankee. “There’s a real opportunity to win here.”