When Devin Williams last faced Pete Alonso, the Mets’ power hitter criticized him for altering the outcome of the NL Wildcard series.
Fast forward to Friday, and Williams found himself in a different situation—no longer with the Brewers, not even in the spotlight of the Bronx subway series.
This time, he made a strong comeback after being removed from the closer position due to a rough performance against the Yankees, delivering eight flawless innings in a 6-2 win over the Mets at Yankee Stadium.
He confronted Alonso in the eighth, starting with a 0-2 count, throwing a fastball at 94 mph.
Williams then struck out Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo, rounding out a remarkable inning.
He finished off Vientos with an impressive changeup.
This marked Williams’ first appearance in 18 outings as a Yankee, part of his efforts to redeem himself since arriving from Milwaukee in a trade that sent Nestle Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin in the opposite direction.
“He was great,” Aaron Boone remarked. “His fastball was sharp, and some of those changeups were really effective.”
Boone noted that aside from his poor showing against the Padres on May 5, Williams has performed considerably better in a set-up role, where he had allowed three runs.
Interestingly, he didn’t feature in seven of his eight outings leading up to Friday.
The stakes were relatively low, coming in with a five-run lead against the Mets.
However, facing Alonso could have been risky, given he was the one who previously sent Williams down that memory lane.
After a stellar regular season, Williams entered Game 3 of Milwaukee’s Wild Card Series but ended up allowing one of Alonso’s most memorable home runs.
His transition to the Yankees got off to a shaky start, having faced tough competition after just 10 outings.
Although he took over for Clay Holmes during the latter part of last season, he’s shown that he can still be trusted in high-pressure scenarios and his signature pitch, while not as devastating, is still noteworthy.
