As Luke Weaver racks up save after save, it can be easy to forget the Yankees right-hander is still pretty new to this whole closing thing.
Monday night’s five-out finish to the Yankees’ 5-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians in ALCS Game 1 marked Weaver’s fourth save of the postseason.
He entered in the eighth inning with runners on the corners and one out, leading by three, and stranded both baserunners by striking out Will Brennan and getting José Ramírez to ground out harmlessly to second base.
Weaver then fired a scoreless ninth, striking out the final three batters after issuing a leadoff walk to Lane Thomas.
“Tonight was a little bit of a grind for me,” Weaver, 31, said afterward.
“I felt really good coming in [during] the eighth. The ninth, coming back out for the first hitter, was a little sloppy. I think it was noticeable. The windup just felt a little funky, and I felt like the adrenaline coming out of the eighth, going back in for the ninth, was a little depleted.”
That candid acknowledgment offered a reminder that Weaver, while nearly flawless so far, is still learning the nuances of being a closer on the fly.
Primarily a starter over his first eight MLB seasons, Weaver thrived as a full-time reliever this year in his first full season with the Yankees, pitching to a 2.89 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 84 innings.
It wasn’t until September, however, that Weaver assumed the ninth inning role, replacing Clay Holmes in what was originally expected to be a closer-by-committee approach.
Monday marked Weaver’s 13th consecutive outing without allowing an earned run, dating back to Sept. 6, when he nailed down his first big-league save during a 3-0 win against the Cubs.
After that game in Chicago, Weaver said he “blacked out” and operated on adrenaline, but he’s only gotten more comfortable in the role since.
“You just ask questions, get out there, have some experiences. I think the backend of the season, especially the last month, there was some time to do that,” Weaver said after Monday’s win.
“I know the first one at Wrigley against the Cubs was a very emotionally hard one. I know the comments I said back then, but things have calmed down a little bit. I feel like I’m able to breathe and know the adjustments needed, which [helps on] a night like tonight where I didn’t feel amazing.”
Weaver converted all four of his save opportunities in September and improved to 4-for-4 in the playoffs with Monday’s effort.
Three of those postseason saves saw Weaver pitch more than an inning, making him the first reliever with three saves of more than three outs in a single playoff run since Kenley Jansen, then of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in 2017, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“We’ve seen the outstanding four-seam fastball, cutter, changeup, and then with that, real command,” manager Aaron Boone said of Weaver. “So he’s got command, the uptick in stuff that we’ve seen in him as a reliever, but also, I think with some of the tweaks he made to his delivery over the winter that didn’t show up, frankly, right away in spring training, has really taken him to another level.”
That command has allowed Weaver to remain efficient. Entering Tuesday, the right-hander had not thrown more than 24 pitches in any of his five postseason appearances, even though he totaled nine strikeouts in six innings.
“He’ll strike guys out, but he doesn’t have to do seven, eight pitches to get there,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “His ability to get after the zone early allows him to collect outs more quickly than others.”
Originally a 2014 first-round pick by St. Louis, Weaver owned a 5.18 ERA over stints with the Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners before the Yankees claimed him off waivers in September 2023.
Weaver made three starts for the Yankees at the end of last season, then re-signed in the offseason on a one-year contract with a club option.
The Yankees typically did not use Weaver on back-to-back days during the regular season, but his saves in ALDS Games 3 and 4 in Kansas City came on consecutive days.
Keeping his body ready for a closer’s workload is just something else Weaver is learning how to do.
“It’s tough,” Weaver said. “It’s different. It’s something I’ve never had to do before. It’s something that I’m learning along the way, and I’m trying to ask questions, find ways to recover and I think at the end of the day, it’s just the will of wanting to go out there and get the rock and do it.”
