So, we have seen that the batters with the exception of Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto performed largely indifferently in October. This, of course, meant that if the Yankees were to carry on to win the championship then the pitchers would need to produce at a level above and beyond their usual. Let’s just say that, particularly in the case of the starters, this never even looked close to happening.

The bullpen did well, but by the time they came to the mound some games were already lost.

Let’s take a look at this tale of woe, which resulted ultimately with the Yankees falling at the final fence, 4-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

So, here are the few that were good and the far greater number who did not enhance the Yankees’ cause:

Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP
Tim Mayza rp	0	0	0.00	3	0	1	0	0	2.1	2	0	0	2	1	1.71
Tim Hill rp	0	0	1.08	10	0	0	0	0	8.1	7	2	1	2	3	1.08
Mark Leiter Jr rp	1	0	1.69	6	0	2	0	0	5.1	3	1	1	5	5	1.50
Luke Weaver rp	1	0	1.76	12	0	8	0	4	15.1	8	3	3	2	16	0.65
Tommy Kahnle rp	1	1	2.08	9	0	1	0	1	8.2	6	3	2	7	7	1.50
Gerrit Cole sp	1	0	2.17	5	5	0	0	0	29.0	27	13	7	10	22	1.28
Clay Holmes rp	3	1	2.25	13	0	1	0	0	12.0	8	3	3	5	12	1.08
Clarke Schmidt sp	0	1	5.25	3	3	0	0	0	12.0	11	7	7	7	9	1.50
Ian Hamilton rp	0	0	5.40	2	0	0	0	0	1.2	1	1	1	1	3	1.20
Carlos Rodon sp	1	2	5.60	4	4	0	0	0	17.2	21	11	11	1	25	1.25
Luis Gil sp	0	0	6.75	2	2	0	0	0	8.0	8	6	6	5	4	1.63
Nestor Cortes rp/sp	0	0	9.00	2	0	1	0	0	2.0	1	2	2	1	1	1.00
Jake Cousins rp	0	1	9.00	6	0	0	0	0	5.0	6	5	5	4	7	2.00
Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP

Starters

Of all the starters, only Gerrit Cole pitched consistently and even then he didn’t quite look his usual self – coming away with four no decisions and only one win in his five starts.

The Yankees used only three other starters, with Nestor Cortes Jr. dropping down to a relief role, and Marcus Stroman not in the reckoning after a season that was nothing short of terrible.

Cole’s struggles (whilst minor in comparison with everybody elses’) are shown mainly in that he gave up 27 hits across 29 innings and also added in 10 walks for added flavour. As I say, he was by far the best of the starters but these men-on-base built to a WHIP of 1.28 which was not Gerrit’s finest.

Clarke Schmidt made 3 starts, but achieved no wins and one loss. His ERA ballooned to 5.25 and his WHIP to 1.50 and even then he was second most effective of those who appeared in the starter’s role.

Third in this motley crew? Well, how about Carlos Rodon. In some respects, you could even argue that he was marginally better than Schmidt. He managed to deliver a win – although also 2 losses, and his WHIP of 1.25 was the best of those in the rotation.

The real struggler was American League Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil. 4th in the rotation, he made only 2 starts of the 14. He gave up 6 runs in the 8 innings he pitched and once more it was good that there was a strong bullpen to get him out of sticky situations. Consequently, he had only no decisions on his record, but the ERA of 6.75 and WHIP of 1.63 revealed the truer story.

Relievers

What a relief! The Yankees’ bullpen was the strongest part of the roster in the playoffs and World Series. However, because of the poor perfomance of the Starters and many of the batters, the games were often lost before the relievers took the mound.

However, quite crucially, the bullpen was so strong they were able to gain 6 wins for the Yankees, compared to only two that came from the starters.

Tim Hill and closer Luke Weaver were perhaps the strongest of the relief corps. Hill appeared in 10 games, pitched 8 and a third innings and only gave up 1 earned run. Weaver gained one win and four saves in his twelve outings (in only 14 games!). He suffered no losses and came out of it all with a 1.76 ERA and a team leading 0.75 WHIP.

Clay Holmes, who in many ways had suffered a disastrous regular season, was perhaps equally impressive in these post-season games. He appeared in even more games than Weaver to whom he had surrendered the closer role, after a very disappointing run some weeks before. In his 13 games, he gained half of the wins the bullpen achieved, with three, although he did lose one game. He took the win in the game that was the only one in which the Yankees beat the Dodgers in a series in which they looked seriously over-matched. His WHIP across the three series was an impressive 1.08

Mark Leiter Jr. and Tommy Kahnle appeared in less games than the aforementioned three, but also contributed more than the Yankees might have expected. Leiter appeared in six games, one of which saw his name in the Win column. He also finished out two of the games he was brought into. Kahnle, pitched 8.2 innings in 9 games, with a win and a loss.

Of the lesser used pitchers, Tim Mayza was the most impressive. In his three games, he did not concede a run, despite giving up 2 hits and 2 runs.

Very few of the relievers struggled. Ian Hamilton did, but he was still carrying injuries. Nestor Cortes did, but he was still clearly adjusting to his new role out of the bullpen,

Perhaps the only true notable weakness was Jake Cousins, who in his 6 outings only pitched five innings, giving up 5 runs, took a loss, and finished with a 2.00 WHIP (the highest on the team). Now, that wasn’t a pretty picture.