Jonathan Loaisiga's rousing return is music to Yankees' ears

CHICAGO – The dance music played loudly in the Yankees’ clubhouse late Tuesday night, as it does after every victory, home or away.

There was more of a sense of relief than the feeling of celebration, indicative of a team that has yet to catch fire, especially offensively, a team still with a rather steep hill to climb to get into the postseason.

After all, the 7-1 victory over the White Sox still left the Yankees  4 ½ games behind the Blue Jays for the AL's third and final wild-card spot entering Wednesday.

But there was a palpable excitement regarding one part of the victory, a not-as-noticed element because it came in the ninth inning with the game already well in hand.

It was the return of righthander Jonathan Loaisiga, making his first appearance since April 5.

And the 28-year-old reliever, who missed 106 games  after surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow, came out throwing fire.

Loaisiga’s first pitch of a 1-2-3, 12-pitch ninth was a nasty 97-mph sinker that darted inside to Andrew Vaughn, who badly swung and missed. On Loaisiga’s second pitch, a 98-mph sinker, Vaughn rolled over and hit a routine grounder to short.

“I looked up there (the in-stadium radar gun) and one of those balls zipped in there at 99 (mph),” Harrison Bader said of Loaisiga’s ninth pitch of the inning, a first-pitch ball to Gavin Sheets, who would strike out looking at a changeup to end the game. “It’s like he never left. I’m happy he’s back and I’m looking forward to seeing him pitch more for us.”

The Yankees have had one of the best bullpens in the majors this season, bringing an MLB-low 3.04 ERA into Wednesday night (the Mariners were next with a 3.49 ERA).

Still, the unit has been taxed throughout the year and each reliever in their own way has had his share of ups and downs. The addition of the seed-throwing Loaisiga, who when healthy in what has been an injury-plagued career has shown himself to be an elite reliever, should bolster a group that will be depended on down the stretch as the Yankees make their playoff push.  

“I mean, Game 1 (back) he’s absolutely electric,” said Michael King, who was fairly electric himself Tuesday, striking the first four batters he faced en route to 2 2/3 scoreless innings. “I saw 99 (mph). It’s just good to have our bullpen guys back. We gel together down there, and he was such a big part of our team for the last few years. So missing him was big. And I know we filled his hole really well, but he definitely increases the bullpen velo (velocity) there.”

Loaisiga had a bit of a roller coaster 2022 when he posted a 4.13 ERA in 50 games. That came after a 2021 when he received All-Star consideration, a season in which he posted a 2.17 ERA in 57 appearances. Tuesday, of course, was an infinitesimal sample size but Loaisiga’s stuff that night reminded just about everyone of his 2021 form.

“It was just good to see him come in so sharp,” Aaron Boone said. “I thought the movement, too. I don’t care so much about the number (radar readings), but you could see the two-seam action from the bench there and just that he came in and had a real easy time of it. That was really good to see, just filling up the strike zone, executing. Because I do feel like he’s in a good place physically and I’ve felt that way for the last month as he’s gotten ramped up.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.