Jonathan Loisiga excels in long-awaited Yankees return I was missing i
See Also New York Yankees The Yankees bullpen got deeper and more dangerous Friday, if slightly more injury-prone. Jonathan Loisiga was activated off the injured list in time for the Subway Series in The Bronx, making it back 13 months after undergoing UCL surgery and throwing a scorele s sixth inning in . A lot of adrenaline. I was mi sing it, Loisiga said through an interpreter. I wanted to be out there, pitching for the team, pitching for the fans. I was really mi sing it and excited to be back. Loisiga needed just 12 pitches to record three outs, working around a double with a sinker that sat around 96-98 mph. The one thing I didnt want [was] the velo to tick up too much, manager Aaron Boone said. Now that next step of, Boom, you havent been out here for a year, youre in Yankee Stadium, its Subway Series, so theres just an energy in the building. I thought he did a really good job of controlling that and letting his stuff work. I thought he was really sharp. Explore More Jonathan Loaisiga walks off the mound fter the sixth inning of the Yankees 6-2 Subway Series-opening win over the Mets on May 16, 2025. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST The Yankees designated lefty reliever
George Hill Jersey Tyler Matzek for a signment to make room for Loisiga. They had liked what they saw from the veteran Matzek early in spring training, but upon returning from an oblique strain, he was not sharp in seven appearances. Loisiga has been largely strong for the Yankees when healthy, posting a 2.98 ERA in 139 games from 2020-2024. The only problem has been staying off the injured list, which has been a struggle. He mi sed time in 2019 and 2021 with a shoulder strain and in 2022 with shoulder inflammation, had surgery in 2023 to remove a bone spur in his right elbow, then underwent UCL reconstruction with an internal brace in April of last year after making just three appearances. Jonathan Loaisiga made his long-awaited return for the Yankees in their win over the Mets. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect CHECK OUT THE AND At his best, though, Loisiga can be a righty killer with a high-90s sinker, providing more of a power look than the rest of the arms the Yankees currently have in their bullpen a unit that entered Friday with an ERA of 3.47, good for ninth-best in the majors even with Devin Williams inflated numbers. The Yankees had initially planned to have Loisiga finish off his rehab a signment by throwing on back-to-back days this weekend at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre but instead brought him back early because of how well he was throwing the ball and bouncing back. In the end, we decided hes pitched a lot. Hes done everything weve needed him to do, Boone said. Hes had probably more than even a normal spring training as far as buildup, and its just been so good. We feel like we should be able to protect him here in this first week, 10 days, two weeks. We can protect him when he pitches, having him down, things like that. So well be mindful of that. Just felt like what weve been looking at the last few months, its been really good.
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