"Clay Holmes is atrocious", "worst pitcher in the entire league" - Yankees fans target under-fire reliever for blown save in walk-off loss vs Rangers

The New York Yankees fell to a 7-4 loss against the Texas Rangers in the series opener on Tuesday. Yankees reliever Clay Holmes was targetted by the fans after another blown save this season.

The reigning World Series winners entered the eighth inning trailing the Yankees 4-1. While a two-run eighth inning off Tommy Kahnle cut the deficit to just one run, Clay Holmes conceded four runs in the ninth as the Rangers completed a dramatic come-from-behind win.

Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford got hold of Yankees All-Star closer Clay Holmes' slider for a 407 ft homer with the bases loaded to become the first Texas rookie to hit a walk-off grand slam.

Yankees fans fumed after Holmes' 11th blown save of the season.

"Clay Holmes is atrocious."

"He is the worst pitcher in the entire league," wrote another disgruntled fan.

"They cannot go into October with this guy. Embarrassing. Gutless," remarked a fan.

Several fans also targeted the Yankees management for sticking with the underperforming players.

"Nothing will change. Clay will continue to close, DJ will continue to play. Money is going into the pockets and the ownership could care less."

"Good management, surely we should let him keep trying. no big games coming up," a sarcastic comment read.

"Aaron boone masterclass!" a fan jibed at the Yankees skipper.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone dismisses mechanical issues with Clay Holmes

Clay Holmes' league-leading 11th blown save of the season undid Yankees starter Carlos Rodon's dominant outing from the mound at Globe Life Field. Rodon pitched six strong innings, conceding just one earned run over one hit and striking out a season-high 11 hitters.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone reflected on Holmes' underwhelming performance against the Rangers, dismissing any mechanical issue with the under-fire closer.

“I don’t feel he’s had a lot of those stretches this year. Tonight they got him. A lot of the times where we’ve lost it’s been soft contact beating him”

The Yankees, who led the AL East for the past two weeks, moved down to the second spot after a defeat against the Rangers. The Baltimore Orioles reclaimed their position at the top, leading the Bronx Bombers by a game after a 9-0 shutout win over the White Sox.