Luke Weaver closes out the Cubs, as Yankees win at Wrigley Field

CHICAGO – Entering the ninth inning at Wrigley Field, Luke Weaver’s first chance at a big-league save came with a symphony of strange feelings.

“I couldn’t see straight. I blacked out for the most part,’’ said Weaver, who managed to hold it together Friday.

Stepping into Clay Holmes’ usual role, Weaver closed out the Yankees’ 3-0 win – a combined one-hitter against the Chicago Cubs, started by Luis Gil.

Jake Cousins and Tommy Kahnle bridged the seventh and eighth innings, and Weaver might see more calls for the ninth inning with Holmes currently in a timeout from the closer’s role.

“It’ll be a little different each day,’’ said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, figuring to “just kind of piece it together the best we can.’’

And that includes high-leverages spots for Holmes, whose MLB-high 11 ^th blown save Tuesday at Texas forced a change in the Yanks’ late-inning bullpen dynamic.

Yankees' Luis Gil arrives off the IL and dominates

On a day when the Cubs lovingly honored Anthony Rizzo with a lengthy video tribute, for his 10 years of service – and a starring role in their Forever championship team of 2016 – the Yankees looked to spin out of a bad stretch of games.

Having lost three straight series to non-contending clubs, the Yankees (81-60) built a third-inning lead on an RBI double by Aaron Judge and a two-run single by Austin Wells off lefty starter Jordan Wicks.

But the most encouraging part of a windy afternoon, with the wind blowing in off Lake Michigan, was Gil’s six shutout innings.

Just off the injured list (back strain), Gil yielded just fourth inning double by Cody Bellinger, while walking two batters and striking out seven.

On Wednesday, the Cubs' Shota Imanaga and two relievers combined to no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates, so the Yanks were that close to combining to no-hit the home team.

“Definitely felt toward the end more velocity and felt stronger,’’ Gil said via interpreter of his fastball becoming more livelier after the first few innings.

“He seemed real sharp to me,’’ said Boone. “Couldn’t have drawn it up better’’ to start the weekend, with Clarke Schmidt (lat strain) coming off the IL to start Saturday and ace Gerrit Cole lined up Sunday.

Luke Weaver's unique ninth inning experience

Getting the ninth inning call was “to be honest, a little unexpected,’’ said Weaver, accustomed to a multi-inning setup role as a Yankee.

“It’s an honor to be able to go out there and get the three most important outs of a ballgame,’’ said Weaver, adding: “It feels different, right?’’

Becoming a closer is “something I aspired to hopefully be at one time, if I was going to be in the bullpen. This is the premier role and it’s just a really cool feeling to be out there and have the trust that I can go do it.’’

Weaver quickly mowed through the first two batters, getting Michael Busch on a called third strike and fanning Seiya Suzuki before Cody Bellinger battled him for a walk.

“I felt like I did a little too much, had to try to get the next guy, (Isaac) Paredes, and he gave me arun for my money,’’ said Weaver, who engaged in an 11-pitch sequence before getting him to ground out.

All the while, Weaver described that “blacked out’’ feeling as a “heightened vision that then becomes blurry, a heartrate that feels uncontrollable’’ and “a numbness that goes through the body yet everything is working at the same time.’’

Wow.

Weaver made his big-league debut here, and this latest Wrigley moment is “a cool little memory,'' with the possibility of more save chances down the stretch.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Luke Weaver closes out the Cubs, as Yankees win at Wrigley Field