Title-worthy bullpen has Yankees creeping closer to something special

CLEVELAND — Aaron Boone showed no fear in going to his bullpen in the fifth inning in the Yankees’ Game 2 win in the ALCS, even with Gerrit Cole on the mound.And once again, the pen delivered, this time allowing just one run over 4 ²/₃ innings, with four different relievers contributing.Through six games this October, the Yankee pen has been tested often — and passed every time.They’ve allowed three runs — two earned — in 23 ¹/₃ innings, with a WHIP of just 0.857 and helped make up for some brief outings from the rotation.Luke Weaver, Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle and, on Tuesday, Tim Hill have gotten multiple huge outs for the Yankees in tight situations.So far, at least, the performance harkens back to some of the Yankee championship teams that featured intimidating bullpens that hardly ever faltered this time of year.Holmes, as dominant as any reliever in his time in the playoffs with 14 ²/₃ scoreless innings in a dozen career appearances, is aware of the great Yankees teams that featured excellent bullpens.“There’s a lot of history here with really good teams and the bullpens have been a big part of that,’’ Holmes said.

“We know the challenge and opportunity we have here to be part of something special.”They still have a long way to go to cement themselves in Yankee lore, but they’ve gotten to within a pair of wins of getting back to the World Series for the first time since the team’s last title in 2009.There’s no bigger reason they’ve made it this far than the bullpen, and a member of one of those championship pens has been impressed by this current group.Jeff Nelson won four World Series rings in a five-year span with the Yankees as part of a Mariano Rivera-led bullpen.“No one can compare to Mo,’’ Nelson said by phone Wednesday, “but it’s pretty remarkable what these guys are doing.”He’s been especially impressed by how the key members of the pen have thrived in different roles — including roles they were...