The roar from Caleb Ferguson was palpable.
He leaned forward after his 3-2 sweeper curled back toward the plate after which past Will Smith. He clenched his left fist. If the suitable one wasn’t covered by a glove, that likely would’ve been, too.
Facing a former team for the primary time in his profession, Ferguson prolonged a robust stretch as certainly one of the Yankees’ top lefties out of the bullpen, silencing the guts of the Dodgers’ order — Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Smith — in a 1-2-3 eighth during their loss Friday.
Ferguson hasn’t allowed a run in 14 of his past 16 appearances, though he was surprised by that. He’s on pace to top 60 outings, with 25 within the Yankees’ first 66 games, for a second consecutive campaign.
And 6 weeks after manager Aaron Boone called Ferguson, who didn’t pitch within the Yankees’ 11-3 loss Saturday, an “essential a part of our pen,” the reliever has delivered on those expectations.
“It was similar to, man, it’s the most effective a part of their lineup, the manager puts me in that game in a tie game, it’s an enormous spot, your manager’s showing a ton of trust in you,” Ferguson told The Post, acknowledging that Boone could’ve pivoted in one other direction based on his “track record” this season of not pitching in addition to expected.
But Ferguson had never experienced the emotions of facing his former MLB team before.
He was drafted within the thirty eighth round by the Dodgers in 2014, recovered from Tommy John surgery and regularly — step-by-step and minor-league affiliate by minor-league affiliate — cracked the majors.
At first, he desired to turn into a starter — a dream that hasn’t necessarily faded even at this point, Ferguson said.
A task materialized within the bullpen, though, and he turned that right into a stable stretch with the Dodgers before being acquired by the Yankees ahead of the 2024 season.
“I feel being a starting pitcher is a privilege,” Ferguson said. “There’s a reason starters are starters, and I feel that’s something that’s really cool. But sometimes it feels just as cool to get the large outs within the back end of a game, too.”
In the newest sample, Ferguson fired two strikes to Ohtani after which got the Dodgers’ superstar to fly out.
He battled through a pair of foul balls by Freeman and induced a lineout, too. Then got here the strikeout against Smith, who was in his wedding party once they were teammates.
Ferguson still hasn’t pitched in addition to he wants.
There was a brutal seventh inning against the Rays last month.
He still thinks he’s a pitch or two away. But recently, Ferguson has felt as if he’s “trending in the suitable direction.”
The newest glimpse just happened to unfold against his former team.
The roar from Caleb Ferguson was palpable.
He leaned forward after his 3-2 sweeper curled back toward the plate after which past Will Smith. He clenched his left fist. If the suitable one wasn’t covered by a glove, that likely would’ve been, too.
Facing a former team for the primary time in his profession, Ferguson prolonged a robust stretch as certainly one of the Yankees’ top lefties out of the bullpen, silencing the guts of the Dodgers’ order — Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Smith — in a 1-2-3 eighth during their loss Friday.
Ferguson hasn’t allowed a run in 14 of his past 16 appearances, though he was surprised by that. He’s on pace to top 60 outings, with 25 within the Yankees’ first 66 games, for a second consecutive campaign.
And 6 weeks after manager Aaron Boone called Ferguson, who didn’t pitch within the Yankees’ 11-3 loss Saturday, an “essential a part of our pen,” the reliever has delivered on those expectations.
“It was similar to, man, it’s the most effective a part of their lineup, the manager puts me in that game in a tie game, it’s an enormous spot, your manager’s showing a ton of trust in you,” Ferguson told The Post, acknowledging that Boone could’ve pivoted in one other direction based on his “track record” this season of not pitching in addition to expected.
But Ferguson had never experienced the emotions of facing his former MLB team before.
He was drafted within the thirty eighth round by the Dodgers in 2014, recovered from Tommy John surgery and regularly — step-by-step and minor-league affiliate by minor-league affiliate — cracked the majors.
At first, he desired to turn into a starter — a dream that hasn’t necessarily faded even at this point, Ferguson said.
A task materialized within the bullpen, though, and he turned that right into a stable stretch with the Dodgers before being acquired by the Yankees ahead of the 2024 season.
“I feel being a starting pitcher is a privilege,” Ferguson said. “There’s a reason starters are starters, and I feel that’s something that’s really cool. But sometimes it feels just as cool to get the large outs within the back end of a game, too.”
In the newest sample, Ferguson fired two strikes to Ohtani after which got the Dodgers’ superstar to fly out.
He battled through a pair of foul balls by Freeman and induced a lineout, too. Then got here the strikeout against Smith, who was in his wedding party once they were teammates.
Ferguson still hasn’t pitched in addition to he wants.
There was a brutal seventh inning against the Rays last month.
He still thinks he’s a pitch or two away. But recently, Ferguson has felt as if he’s “trending in the suitable direction.”
The newest glimpse just happened to unfold against his former team.
