After being sidelined for nearly two months, Jonathan Loaisiga is pitching more like the reliever he was in 2021, validating the Yankees’ belief that he could get back to that form. He finished the regular season with a 1.76 earned run average over his final 31 appearances, a crucial turnaround the Yankees’ bullpen struggle amid injuries and they seek to win the playoffs first time in years.
With the Yankees in the middle of the ALDS, his return to form is a boon for them. Loaisiga was forced to go on the injured list in May due to shoulder impingement, and he took his ugly 7.02 earned run average with him. Following his return, he made his first appearance against the Reds and promptly blew it by allowing three runs in two-thirds of an inning. Things did not improve from there.
Since then, however, Loaisiga has pitched reasonably well signaling a return to his form.
The Yankees’ pitcher told as Thursday’s ALDS Game 2 was postponed:
“The adjustment we’ve made in my mechanics, it had to do with my shoulder, actually, we felt that it was lagging behind a little bit, and I was putting a little too much stress on the shoulder. So together with [bullpen coach Mike] Harkey and our pitching coach, [Matt] Blake, we worked on that just to get in a better position that would allow me to be more fluid executing pitches.”
Now, in order to assist a worn-down bullpen, the Yankees need Loaisiga to maintain this momentum while also reversing some of the results he has seen in previous postseasons.
In the first game of the series, which took place on Tuesday, Loaisiga was the first man to come out of the bullpen. He replaced Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning with a runner on first and one out, protecting a 4-1 lead in the process. The hard-throwing right-hander gave up a single to Steven Kwan before using an inside sinker traveling at 100 mph to get Amed Rosario to hit into a double play, which ended the inning.
After that, Jose Ramirez started off the bottom of the eighth inning by singling against Loaisiga. After that, the Yankees turned to Wandy Peralta and Clay Holmes to close out the victory.
Loaisiga has pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs while also allowing eight hits and eight walks across his eight career postseason appearances.
However, Loaisiga will need to improve his performance, especially considering that the remainder of the ALDS could be played on four consecutive days if it goes the distance. This would place an additional strain on the bullpens of both teams.
Since coming off the disabled list, Loaisiga has thrown on consecutive days an astounding eight times. During the second game of that pair of back-to-back contests, he has allowed two runs on five hits while also walking two batters for a total of eight 1/3 innings.
In his career with the major leagues, Loaisiga has never pitched on three consecutive days.
Can Loaisiga maintain his form during the playoffs?
