ST. LOUIS — Michael King was one of the Yankees’ most well-rested relievers Saturday, so he gave them the biggest jolt.
On a day when the Yankees’ bullpen was asked to cover 13 innings of a doubleheader, including the entire nightcap, King delivered 3 ¹/₃ scoreless innings to salvage the split with a 6-2 win over the Cardinals in Game 2 at Busch Stadium.
King had not pitched since last Sunday, but was economical Saturday night, needing just 36 pitches to record 10 big outs while bridging the gap to the late innings.
“They needed to get my workload up because it’s been down for so long,” King said with a grin. “I felt good out there. I knew we needed to get as much length as we can out of whichever reliever was going to get quick outs. I looked up after my first out and it was two pitches. Then after the first inning it was 12 pitches and I was like, ‘Alright, let’s go.’ ”
King relieved Ron Marinaccio in the third inning of a 3-2 game with the bases loaded and two outs.
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He needed just two pitches to get Paul DeJong to ground out to end the threat before cruising through the next three innings.
“He got some early-count contact outs right from jump street,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He was just real efficient. Using a little bit of everything, moving the ball around. But another strong outing for Kinger.”
In his longest outing of the season, King looked like he had turned a corner from his struggles in June. During six outings from June 8 to June 23, King gave up nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits and four walks across 7 ¹/₃ innings.
But he threw a scoreless inning for a save last Sunday and then rested during the week to give the Yankees a much-needed boost Saturday.
“I definitely still think I’m working on a lot of stuff,” King said. “I have mechanical changes that I’m still trying to make. There are definitely times where I go through a few pitches that don’t feel right. … The main point for me right now is I can start to see it trending in the right direction. I just don’t want to be thinking mechanically and get away from being competitive out there. In all my catch play and bullpens, I’m doing it and then once I go out there, I’m just ripping.”
