Clay Holmes makes the wrong kind of Yankees history

The New York Yankees have had some of the best relief pitchers and closers in baseball history, including possibly the greatest closer to ever do it in Mariano Rivera.

Their current closer situation feels a long way from that legacy of success this season and the Yankees got another reminder of it on Sunday night in a 3-2 extra-innings loss to the Detroit Tigers.

It was during that game that closer Clay Holmes blew his league-leading 10th save of the season, giving up a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game to extra innings. After the Yankees scored a run in the top of the 10th, Mark Leiter Jr. surrendered two runs in the bottom of the inning to seal up the walk-off loss.

If 10 blown saves seems like a lot in one season, that is because it is. It is a number that the Yankees have not seen in nearly 40 years. Holmes is the first Yankee to record 10 blown saves in a season since Dave Righetti had 13 during the 1987 season.

It is hard to be too critical of the bullpen when your team only scores one run through the first nine innings of a game. Expecting a club to win any game 1-0 is an ask. But the fact Holmes has let so many leads slip away this season has to be a major concern for the Yankees as the playoffs draw near and as they try to secure the American League East crown and hold off the Baltimore Orioles. They could have taken a one-game lead in the division with a win on Sunday night.

Every game matters and you cannot let any lead slip away. The Yankees have had it happen too many times and it has to be a growing concern.