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Marcus Stroman Tweets Out Support of Clay Holmes, Aaron Boone After Quality Start Wasted

Marcus Stroman continues to stake his claim as a great teammate.

Josh Wilson

May 20, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) reacts during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
May 20, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) reacts during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees, who have won 13 of 15 series to start their 2024 season, were stunned in the ninth inning of their opener against the Seattle Mariners on Monday night. Seattle put four runs on the board in the top of the final frame to take a 5-4 lead.

Closer Clay Holmes, who hadn't allowed an earned run in any of his 20 appearances this season before Monday (20.2 innings pitched), allowed four hits and gave up two walks. He could not get out of the inning despite the three-run cushion.

Meanwhile, Marcus Stroman saw his quality start -- his fourth of the season -- whisked away with no warning.

Despite the frustrating circumstances of the wasted outing, he took to social media to express his support for the closer and his manager, Aaron Boone.

Stroman called Holmes the, "best closer in baseball," and said he would, "run through a brick wall," for Boone.

Stroman, who joined the Yankees as a clearly more personality-driven, spunky starter than what they have had in recent years, is also known as a diehard teammate wherever he plays. He's been one of the constant players broadcast cameras draw to after a home run or big play celebrating his teammates.

Stroman was asked about the much-discussed weak contact hits the Mariners got on base with against Holmes on Monday. While the Mariners got on base several times, their batted balls that led to base hits averaged 79.5 miles per hour off the bat, with three of the four below 90 mph. The only hard-hit ball was a sacrifice fly at 101.1 mph.

"Clay's been unbelievable. I think Clay's the best closer in baseball. I think it's very weak contact, essentially if they hit the ball harder in some of those plays we probably wouldn't be in this situation, so I think you just have to honestly really understand that. Clay's gonna continue to be incredible for us, not even a slight worry there. That's how baseball shapes out sometimes, just doesn't go your way."

While that doesn't take the loss out of the column for New York, it might be something to hold onto in regards to excitement about Holmes and his potential moving forward.

The Yankees sit in first place of the AL East as of Tuesday morning with the Baltimore Orioles right on their tail.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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