Fastball

New York Yankees' Reliever Did Something Absolutely Insane on Sunday

The New York Yankees lost to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon but the performance of reliever Tommy Kahnle should still be recognized. It was only one inning for Kahnle, but it was absolutely insane.

Brady Farkas

New York Yankees pitcher Tommy Kahnle (41) pitches in the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Yankee Stadium on June 23.
New York Yankees pitcher Tommy Kahnle (41) pitches in the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Yankee Stadium on June 23. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The New York Yankees lost to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium 3-1. Despite the loss, New York is still rolling this season at 52-28. They lead the American League East by 1.5 games over the Baltimore Orioles, but they have now lost seven of their last 10 games thanks to a difficult schedule over the last two weeks.

In the loss, Yankees' reliever Tommy Kahnle put up one of the more absurd innings you'll see out of a reliever. He struck out the side in his inning and did it while throwing nothing but changeups.

That's right: 17 pitches. 17 changeups, despite the fact that he throws in the mid-to-upper 90s.

Per @PitchingNinja on social media:

Tommy Kahnle, K'ing the Side with Changeups.

Kahnle threw 17 pitches in the 8th inning...
All 17 were changeups.

Now, it makes sense that Kahnle would be changeup-heavy against the lefty trio of Jarred Kelenic, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson but that still seems a bit excessive. However, it's part of a trend in baseball where teams will pitch away from a team's strengths as opposed to pitching to their own. While Kahnle has a good changeup, obviously, with a mid-90s fastball also, you'd think he could have thrown at least one.

The Yankees are off on Monday but will start a shortened Subway Series on Tuesday night at Citi Field. They'll take on the Mets as Gerrit Cole makes his second start of the year. He'll be opposed by lefty David Peterson, who is 3-0.

Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

Published
Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

Home/News