Tim Hills dream night puts Yankees elite bullpen depth on full display

Already this postseason, Clay Holmes, Luke Weaver and Tommy Kahnle have had their moments. Add an even more unlikely playoff surprise to the mix after the Yankees beat the Guardians, 6-3, Tuesday in Game 2 of the ALCS to take a commanding lead: Tim Hill. With an early exit from Gerrit Cole, the Yankees first turned to Holmes again to get out of a jam in the fifth inning. The heavily worked right-hander was asked to only get two outs before the Yankees went to the lefty Hill, who retired all five batters he faced before handing the ball over to Kahnle. It was a much-needed turnaround for the lefty Hill, who struggled for most of his first three postseason outings this October, having allowed four hits and a pair of runs — one earned — in 1 ¹/₃ innings. But Aaron Boone trusted Hill to face the heart of Cleveland’s lineup, as he got leadoff hitter Steven Kwan on a soft liner to third and Kyle Manzardo to hit a grounder to first to finish the top of the sixth. He stayed out to start the seventh and got the dangerous Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor to both ground out to third. Hill then left the mound to an ovation from the sell-out crowd, which he called “pretty cool.” It’s been a long road since he was released by the historically bad White Sox earlier in the year and worked his way to become a valuable member of the Yankees pen. And now he’s closing in on a potential World Series appearance. “I just trusted my stuff,’’ Hill said of his turnaround.“It’s playoff baseball.

You go out there and get as many outs as you can.” Hill’s heroics came after yet another strong outing by Holmes, who continues to dominate this time of year. With his 6 ²/₃ scoreless innings this postseason, Holmes hasn’t allowed a run in 14 ²/₃ innings in three trips to the playoffs. And Kahnle has been just as impressive this October, with 5 ²/₃ scoreless innings after getting four more outs Tuesday. Naturally, the new closer Weaver came on to fi...