As Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt leaves the game, let’s take a look at the state of New York’s bullpen.

The Yankees’ bullpen was essentially flawless in the Division Series (15 2/3 innings, 0.00 ERA, 0.77 WHIP), but started to show some cracks in the ALCS (23 innings, 4.30 ERA, 1.65 WHIP). In the World Series it was a little bit of both. The Yankees pen was mostly excellent (0.96 WHIP), but its biggest failure came in a walk-off loss in Game 1.

In Game 2, the Yankees managed to stay away from two of their highest-leverage relievers, meaning both Luke Weaver and Tommy Kahnle are relatively well-rested at the moment. The team’s top left tackle, Tim Hill, did pitch in Game 2, but it was only 14 pitches, and it was his only appearance in over a week.

Take away the Grand Slam from Game 1 and the Yankees bullpen would have a 2.11 ERA in the postseason, better than any other team that has played more than twice in October.

Mark Leiter Jr. comes in.