Watch: New York Yankees pitcher Michael King saves the day, finishes off the Toronto Blue Jays in style
New York Yankees relief pitcher Michael King came in clutch against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night. He finished off the shutout that Luis Severino started and secured a 2-2 series draw between the two AL East rivals.
King, who is beginning his fourth season with the Yankees, played his first full season in the bullpen last season. In 22 games, Michael King recorded an ERA of 3.55 with 62 strikeouts.
New York Yankees reliever stymies big bats
After starting pitcher Luis Severino logged 5 innings, allowing only 2 hits and striking out 6, the stage was set for the Yankees bullpen to bring the victory home for the Bronx Bombers.
No fewer than six pitchers came on before King. The most recent being Aroldis Chapman.
Chapman struggled to control his famous fastball and ended up walking 3 in the ninth inning, loading the bases. It was then that King, the 26-year-old upstate New York native, got the tap on the shoulder.
Michael King bails out Aroldis Chapman, saves Yankees' win over Blue Jays dlvr.it/SNdGFc https://t.co/AV8LTyuaDf
Inheriting Chapman's baserunners, he struck out leadoff hitter George Springer swinging. This was a huge first out, but the bags none the less remained juiced.
It was then up to King to face Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, who had a team-leading 191 hits last year. In 2022, Bichette is 7-for-32.
He threw Bo Bichette a pitch down and away, which the shortstop lined out to Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu. The latter threw to first base to get runner Matt Chapman out and end the ballgame.
Aroldis Chapman came in and issued 3 walks to load the bases. He threw 16 pitches, and just 4 strikes.
The Yankees brought in Michael King, who only threw 5 pitches, all 5 of them were strikes, and he got 3 outs in his first career save situation.
https://t.co/ErN3H1UfGZ
All told, it was a tremendous joint effort by the New York Yankees bullpen to keep the Toronto hitters at bay. If the Yankees are able to put in such a stellar performance against the Jays throughout the season, the pennant may be well within their reach.