Scary Clay Holmes is here.

May 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Clay Holmes (35) throws a eighth / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

On Wednesday night, the New York Yankees salvaged their series against the Baltimore Orioles with a narrow 2-0 victory that saw Luis Gil get the win and Corbin Burnes get the loss. Of course, this was the game to win, right?

But it was more of the same. The Yankees’ offense recorded four hits and a walk, with Oswaldo Cabrera’s two-run homer being the only production of the night. The team went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Batters 1-7 went 1-for-24. Over the last two games, all of Anthony Volpe, Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres are 1-for-36. It’s untenable.

But Gil came to the rescue, twirling 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball. He surrendered just two hits and a walk while striking out five before turning it over to the bullpen. And speaking of the bullpen? Clay Holmes is in Monster Mode, folks. The guy cannot be stopped.

Just five days after manager Aaron Boone refused to use the closer in split inning duty on the road in extras against the Brewers, Holmes was called upon to get five outs on Wednesday because of how shaky the rest of the ‘pen is.

When the dust settled, Holmes saved the day, and he now has a 0.00 ERA, 1.89 FIP, 0.89 WHIP, nine saves and 13 strikeouts in 13.1 innings this season. He made the vaunted Orioles lineup look like chumps. It was incredible.

Yankees News: Clay Holmes destroys Orioles, Luis Gil rebound, Aaron Judge slide

Holmes struck out three batters in his 1 2/3 innings of work. He threw 23 pitches and 20 of them went for strikes. He came on in the eighth inning with two runners on and one out and managed to strike out both Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman on seven pitches.

Sit down, fellas. The only reason you’re up in the series is because the Yankees have somehow been worse than they’ve been all season. Don’t you forget, the O’s have scored just six runs on 16 hits and seven walks in these three games. This is bad. The Yankees, in classic fashion, managed to out-do that ineptitude.

On the bright side, Gil’s outing brought signs of encouragement after his last two erratic showings. He’s struggled with his command and efficiency, but rebounded in a big way when the Yankees needed a gem and had a razor thin margin for error.

Cabrera’s homer was the difference, and now the Yankees are 4-0 this season when he puts one over the fence. He has three home runs that have tied the game or given New York the lead after the fifth inning this season. Every other Yankee has two combined.

It’s onto Thursday, when Carlos Rodón will face TBD in an afternoon game. Riveting.

Let’s take a quick rewind to Sunday, though, when the Yankees erupted for 15 runs, thanks in part to Aaron Judge’s hand-raised slide that broke up a double play when Brewers shortstop Willy Adames’ throw hit Judge’s hand on the relay to first base. The umpires didn’t rule interference because, well, it wasn’t, the Brewers weren’t given the second out, and the Yankees took advantage to put up seven runs with two outs in the frame. That essentially ended the game.

But the umpiring crew later ruled Judge did commit intereference, upon further review after the game. Boone strongly disagreed with that and called out the crew chief. The manager says he’s waiting for the league to get back to him on the matter.

Between that slide and the brief complaint about the Orioles’ stupid Camden Yards renovations, the Yankees have really ticked off a lot of opposing fanbases in a matter of 24 hours. Butter up that popcorn.