Yankees relievers quiet Dodgers lineup to salvage doubleheader split after Aaron Boones Game 1 sacrifice

The worst of the Yankees bullpen turned a close deficit into a blowout in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.

But the best of it won them the nightcap.Five relievers combined for nine innings of one-run ball against arguably the best lineup in the majors, quieting the Dodgers in a 2-1 win at Yankee Stadium.Ryan Yarbrough (2 ²/₃ innings), Paul Blackburn (2 ¹/₃ innings), Brent Headrick (two innings), Fernando Cruz (one-third of an inning) and David Bednar (1 ²/₃ innings) delivered about as much as the Yankees could have hoped for — aside from Cruz allowing a solo home run to pinch hitter Tommy Edman in the eighth inning — to help stave off a series sweep.“Yarbs getting almost three innings … he was great and efficient,” manager Aaron Boone said.“And then Blackburn being able to get seven outs for us.

That was huge.That gave us a chance then to leverage it at the backside of the game.”After the Dodgers forced Cam Schlittler to throw 98 pitches across 4 ¹/₃ innings of Game 1, Yarbrough (36 pitches), Blackburn (25 pitches) and Headrick (22 pitches) were all much more efficient.

Headrick, the unsung MVP of the bullpen to date, has not allowed a run in 41 of his 49 relief appearances, which leads the majors.Boone sacrificed the end of Game 1 to make the nightcap possible.The Yankees trailed only 3-1 entering the eighth inning when Boone used Jake Bird and Camilo Doval, who combined to allow seven straight Dodgers to reach as their lead ballooned to 8-1.Bird, who was charged with all five runs, was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game, as his ERA reached 5.93 across 36 games and 30 ¹/₃ innings this season.The Yankees called up Kervin Castro to take Bird’s spot in the bullpen in time for the nightcap, trying to see if another internal option could give them some better relie...