Jonathan Holder has a night to forget at Fenway
Yankees pitcher Jonathan Holder reacts after giving up a three-run home run to the Red Sox's Steve Pearce in the fourth inning of a game at Fenway Park on Thursday. Credit: Getty Images / Adam Glanzman
BOSTON — He was this year’s front-end breakout star in a backloaded Yankees bullpen. Like Chad Green last season, Jonathan Holder emerged as a revelation, living up to his last name by dominating the middle innings.
Until Thursday night’s epic unraveling in the fourth inning at Fenway Park.
That’s when the Red Sox turned Holder into a batting practice punching bag. He couldn’t hold a 4-2 lead. He couldn’t keep the Yankees in the game. He couldn’t, in fact, record a single out. Seven batters, seven runs. When the inning was over — Green also got banged around for three hits and a run — the Sox had a 10-4 lead and were on their way to a 15-7 victory.
“I just didn’t have my stuff. It got out of hand,” said Holder, who had a 0.88 ERA in 35 appearances since his recall from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on April 21. But that statistic, like a high-earning blue chip stock, proved that past performance is no guarantee of future success. Holder’s ERA soared to 3.50.
The inning began ignominiously enough when Holder walked No. 9 hitter Jackie Bradley Jr. Mookie Betts doubled Bradley to third. Anthony Benintendi then hit a comebacker that Holder backhanded but instead of throwing home and getting Bradley caught in a rundown, he threw to third. But Bradley broke for home and beat Miguel Andujar’s throw. Benintendi reached first on the fielder’s choice and Steve Pearce hit the second of his three home runs, a three-run blast to left that put Boston ahead to stay 6-4.
The misery wasn’t over. J.D. Martinez doubled, Ian Kinsler singled him home, stole second and scored on Eduardo Nuñez’s double.
“Looking back, two things killed me,” Holder said. “The leadoff walk hurt bad, and that [fielding] play, I should’ve made a better decision. I should’ve run him back to third. When I caught the ball and looked, his back was facing home plate.”
Aaron Boone did not blame Holder for that play. “A good job by Holder there, actually,” Boone said. “He recognized where the runner was and got it to Miggy. But Miggy was a little delayed in getting the ball to home plate. Now, you can grab it and run at him and really freeze him, which would’ve been the perfect play.”
Instead, it was an imperfect night all around for Holder. “I don’t think that play affected him,” Boone said. “I don’t think he was executing his pitches.”
