Mark Leiter Jr. is aware of the expectations after coming over in a deadline commerce and is aware of too a lot of his pitches have wound up within the seats, having allowed 5 dwelling runs in his first 16 video games with the Yankees after he was victimized by simply two homers in 39 Cubs video games this season.
He additionally is aware of the intense aspect: There are a couple of weeks earlier than the common season ends and October begins.
“The great factor is we nonetheless have a while,” Leiter stated earlier than the Yankees completed a sequence with the Royals in The Bronx on Wednesday.
The opposite good factor: Leiter’s stuff has not disappeared.
A part of what made Leiter so interesting to the Yankees was his potential to overlook bats, which would slot in effectively in a bullpen that didn’t strike out many batters for a lot of the season.
In his first six weeks in pinstripes, Leiter struck out 22 in 15 ²/₃ innings, an encouraging signal that, even when he had been hit arduous a number of instances, his motion and velocity had been intact.
“My swing-and-miss is there,” stated Leiter, who started the evening with a 5.74 ERA because the commerce. “My confidence is there.”
Good outcomes haven’t been there, notably together with his sinker.
Of the 5 dwelling runs that he had served up with the Yankees, 4 had come in opposition to the sinker, opposing hitters batting .652 in opposition to the pitch within the span.
The Royals’ Tommy Pham drilled his dwelling run in opposition to Leiter’s sinker Tuesday.
The Nationals’ Jacob Younger related with the pitch for a dinger on Aug. 26, too.
“Sinker’s been hit, and it’s one thing I’m excited about,” stated Leiter, who owns top-of-the-line pitches (his splitter) in baseball however has been burned a couple of instances earlier in counts.
The 33-year-old has been used a bit in another way with the Yankees, who’ve a pair of efficient lefties of their bullpen.
The righty Leiter has been stronger in opposition to lefty batters in his profession, and previous to the swap basically served because the Cubs lefty specialist.
Earlier than the commerce, he had confronted 54 righty batters and 98 lefties this season.
After the commerce — as a result of supervisor Aaron Boone can flip to southpaws Tim Hill and Tim Mayza together with righty Tommy Kahnle, who is great in opposition to lefties — Leiter had confronted 33 lefty batters and 46 righties, the latter of whom have hit Leiter arduous (a .391 on-base proportion and .610 slugging proportion with three dwelling runs).
The Yankees and Leiter hope that this stretch — through which he has flashed dominance however throughout which nearly any mistake (and a few not even errors) have became dwelling runs — shall be forgotten through the ultimate weeks and into the postseason.
“Nonetheless making an attempt to get to know him,” Boone stated Tuesday, after Leiter allowed two hits in 1 ²/₃ innings, however considered one of which was that Pham dwelling run. “There’s been a number of good inside each outing. There’s been some outings the place he’s been actual robust. There’s been some outings the place he’s gotten damage with slug. Whether or not it’s the fastball, whether or not it’s getting behind, not touchdown a few of his secondary pitches and he will get backed right into a nook.
“Gotta maintain grinding with him and get him in positions to achieve success.”
