King picked up the save Saturday against the Cubs. striking out one over 1.2 scoreless innings.
King took over for Gerrit Cole with one out in the top of the eighth and needed just five pitches to retire the next two batters and end the inning. He would later hit Christopher Morel with a pitch in the ninth, but the right-hander was solid outside of that one hiccup en route to earning his sixth save of the season. King has now converted three of his last four save attempts and lowered his season ERA to 2.77 with Saturday's scoreless outing.
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Yankees' Michael King: Secures win in Game 2
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King (2-4) allowed a hit and struck out two without walking a batter over 3.1 innings of relief to earn the win in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader versus the Cardinals.
King covered the most innings of the six pitchers the Yankees deployed in a bullpen game. He's no stranger to longer relief outings -- he's gone past an inning in 20 of his 27 appearances on the year, though Saturday's effort was his longest of the season. King now has a 2.84 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 48:14 K:BB through 44.1 innings overall while adding five saves and three holds. He remains in the mix for some high-leverage work, but his ability to go multiple innings makes him a versatile part of the New York bullpen.
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Yankees' Michael King: Secures fifth save Sunday
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King picked up the save in Sunday's 5-3 victory over the Rangers, allowing one hit over a scoreless inning. He struck out two and didn't record a walk.
With Clay Holmes and Wandy Peralta presumably unavailable after working the previous day, Ron Marinaccio got the call in the eighth with New York trailing and King earned a save opportunity after the Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. It was King's fifth save of the year but his first save opportunity since June 13. It had been a struggle for King since then, as he allowed five runs over his previous three appearances. Despite his scoreless inning Sunday, King likely won't get many more save chances moving forward as long as Holmes, Peralta and Marinaccio are all healthy.
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Yankees' Michael King: Notches fourth save
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King picked up the save Tuesday against the Mets, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
King sealed a 7-6 victory, setting the Mets down in order in the ninth inning after Clay Holmes pitched the eighth. It's King's first save since May 15. He improved to 4-for-6 in save chances with a 2.19 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 41:12 K:BB across 37 innings this season. King should continue to pitch in high-leverage spots for the Yankees, though Holmes is still likely the preferred ninth-inning option.
King earned a save with 1.1 perfect innings against Toronto on Monday.
After the Blue Jays rallied for four runs in the bottom of eighth, King was summoned to put out the fire with two outs and a runner on second. He induced a groundout to end the frame, then stayed around for the ninth, during which he retired the side on 10 pitches. The successful outing earned King his third save, all of which have required him to get more than three outs. While it may be inaccurate to name King the Yankees' primary closer, he is as much in the mix as any of the team's relievers -- since April 27, he's notched three saves, Wandy Peralta has picked up two, two others have one apiece and Clay Holmes has zero.
Yankees' Michael King: Available back-to-back soon
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King will soon be available to pitch more frequently and in shorter bursts, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports.
The Yankees have been careful with King's usage so far this season after a fractured pitching elbow ended his 2022 campaign. However, his arm has bounced back well and he has pitched his way into being one of manager Aaron Boone's most trusted relievers. King picked up a 1.2-inning save Tuesday versus the Guardians and, with Clay Holmes struggling, could be asked to shoulder more of the closing load.
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Yankees' Michael King: Nails down second save
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King walked one and struck out three over 1.2 scoreless innings to record his second save of the season in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Guardians.
Clay Holmes blew his second save of the year Monday, opening the door for King to collect a save in his second straight appearance. Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave Holmes the dreaded vote of confidence after Monday's performance, but King is making a strong push for more save opportunities with a 1.56 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 20:4 K:BB through 17.1 innings. The 27-year-old right-hander has recorded at least four outs in each of his nine appearances to begin the season, so even if Holmes' grip on the closer role slips further, King could still find himself in a high-leverage fireman role rather than limited to the ninth inning.
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Yankees' Michael King: Closes out victory
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King picked up the save in Thursday's 4-2 win over Texas. He allowed one walk while striking out two over 2.1 scoreless innings.
King registered his first save of the season without giving up a hit. The right-hander has posted a 1.72 ERA through 15.2 innings pitched this year, and he will continue to play a significant role in the Yankees' bullpen if he keeps performing at this level.
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Yankees' Michael King: Sees drop in velocity
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King's velocity was down in Tuesday's loss to Philadelphia, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
King allowed four hits over 1.1 innings in the outing, with the first two knocks driving in a pair of runs that were charged to Domingo German. King's fastball topped out at 95.2 mph in the contest, about a tick below his average velocity on the pitch last season. Overall, King's average four-seamer is clocking in at 94.1 mph this season as opposed to 96.4 mph in 2022. While the right-hander said he believes the reduced velocity to be mechanical, manager Aaron Boone suggested that the reliever may be in the midst of a "dead-arm period." It's not yet certain if the issue will affect King's availability moving forward.
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Yankees' Michael King: Completes live BP session
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King (elbow) threw his first live batting practice session of the spring Saturday and doesn't appear to have any limitations during camp, Randy Miller of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.
King was sidelined for the final two and a half months of the 2022 season after fracturing his right elbow and undergoing surgery, but since he was fortunate enough to avoid any UCL damage, he was able to make a swifter recovery than if he would have required a Tommy John procedure. The Yankees could still opt to use him conservatively in spring training, but assuming he escapes the Grapefruit League slate unscathed, he should settle back in as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen. He dazzled over his 51 frames with the big club last season, submitting a 2.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 66:16 K:BB while capturing six wins, one save and 16 holds.
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Yankees' Michael King: Throwing all pitches off mound
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King (elbow) said Wednesday that he's thrown about 10 times from a mound over the past six weeks, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
King is not only throwing off the mound, but he's using all of his pitches and has already faced live hitters. The right-hander believes he'll be ready for the start of the season after missing the final two months of 2022 because of a fractured elbow that required surgery. Assuming he continues to make steady progress as spring training unfolds, King should be a strong late-inning option for the Yankees during the 2023 campaign.
