The Yankees were never in a high-leverage situation on Tuesday night, as they routed the Seattle Mariners from the get-go in their 12-1 victory.
That prompted Aaron Boone to bring in Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning, so the struggling closer can figure out how to get back to his old self.
And his outing, well, it depends if you're glass-half-empty or half-glass-full.
He struck out three, but allowed a hit and two walks to load the bases, and also threw a wild pitch to the back netting. Ultimately, though, his scoreless ninth preserved the victory.
And Boone is glass-half-full - as usual - when it comes to his All-Star closer.
"Hopefully a step forward for him. He’s gonna continue to work, and continue to do pregame things that hopefully get him right back on track, and hopefully this is a step towards that for him," Boone said.
Chapman topped out at 98.6 mph on Tuesday, and his four-seamer averaged 96.5 mph. But Boone said because of the situation, he wasn’t rearing back and trying for triple-digits.
"I think he was – because of the situation," Boone said, "probably not reaching back for all his velocity. I think he really wanted to just try and find some lanes and get into his delivery, and I thought he did a better job of that.
Before Tuesday's game, Boone said "anyone" could be the closer because of how bad the lefty has been, but after the game, he said he wants to use Chapman in high-leverage situations.
“I want to continue to get him out there this week at least a couple more times," said Boone. "And it could be in a closing situation or it could be in a different kind of situation just to get him back out there and get him on the mound and kind of locked back in.”
Tuesday was Chapman's first scoreless appearance since June 20, but he has allowed at least three baserunners in four-straight outings, and five of his last six.