Aaron Judge ‘not worried’ by Devin Williams’ shaky start to Yankees career

Devin Williams blew a 4-run save on Saturday for the New York Yankees, which saw the Tampa Bay Rays come back and win 10-8 in extra innings.

Aaron Judge ‘not worried’ by Devin Williams’ shaky start to Yankees career

Devin Williams and Aaron Judge (Image via x/@YankeeLibrarian/Imago)

On Saturday, the New York Yankees slipped up once again. The newly acquired closing pitcher, Devin Williams, struggled again as he blew away another lead. Despite that, captain Aaron Judge is ‘not worried’ about him.

After losing in the World Series last year, the Yankees made some big moves this offseason. One of them saw the team acquire Williams, a 2-time MLB All-Star, in exchange for starting pitcher Nestor Cortes from the Milwaukee Brewers.

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During the game against the Tampa Bay Rays, he entered the 9th inning looking to close out the deal. The Yankees were leading 8-4 at that time.

However, he gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. This saw the Rays come back from a 4-run deficit and tie the game at 8-8. In the bottom of the tenth inning, they completed the comeback and won the game 10-8, leaving Williams with a blown save.

The performance of Williams led to severe backlash from the fans. In the midst of this, Aaron Judge has backed his teammate and admitted that hailed him as the “best closer” in the game.

We went out and got him for a reason. He’s the best closer in the game. We got a long season. This guy’s gonna save a lot of ballgames for us and help us out. I’m not worried at all… Nobody in here is worried. He’s gonna get the job done.

Aaron Judge said as per Yankees beat writer Gary Phillips

The 30-year-old pitcher has a 9.00 ERA in his first 9 games of the season this year. During this, he has pitched 8 innings and given up 8 earned runs through 11 hits. Last season, he had a 1-0 record in 22 games but pitched with a low ERA of 1.25 in 21.2 innings.

Devin Williams admits he made some bad pitches during loss against Rays

The addition of Devin Williams to the New York Yankees was seen as a huge boost to their pitching department. Having already picked up Max Fried on an 8-year deal, the trade deal of Williams was seen as a massive bargain. So far, the All-Star Closer has not lived up to the hyped.

Devin Williams
Devin Williams (Image via Yanks Go Yard)

In the match against the Rays, Williams once again struggled with his control over the pitches. During the press conference, he admitted that he made some bad pitches which allowed the opposition to come back and win the game later on.

A four-run lead, you’d like to get in and get out. I made some good pitches, made some bad ones. Not enough good ones today.

Devin Williams told the reporters as per YES Network

This blown save by Williams ended a 5-game winning run of the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers had been on a roll since their 5-4 loss against the San Francisco Giants. During this 5-game winning run, they swept the Kansas City Royals, whom they knocked out in the American League Division Series (ALDS) last season.

The Rays will now look to even up this 4-game series with their division rivals with a win on Sunday. The Yankees, who are 13-8 this season with the loss on Saturday, will then travel to Cleveland to take on the Cleveland Guardians, whom they defeated in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) last year en route to the World Series.

Gary Sheffield’s son takes playful jab at Devin Williams’ struggles with the Yankees

Devin Williams’ struggling start to his New York Yankees career is a bit of a concern for the team. Following his blown save on Saturday, former Yankees star, Gary Sheffield‘s son, took a playful jab at the All-Star pitcher.

Devin Williams
Devin Williams (Image via X/@JustBB_Media)

Taking to his X account, Gary Sheffield Jr., son of the MLB great Gary Sheffield, suggested that Williams should be forced to shave until his ERA for a month drops down to 3.50. The Yankees this year shocked the world when they abandoned their no-beard policy and started to allow players to sport a beard instead of having a clean shaved face.

Devin Williams should be forced to shave until his ERA for a month is below 3.50

Gary Sheffield Jr. on X

Williams’ 9.00 ERA is obviously a very high number. In each of the past 3 seasons, he has had an ERA below 2.00 (1.93 in 2022, 1.53 in 2023, and 1.25 in 2024). He will need to improve significantly from here on if he were to keep this trend going for a fourth season running.