The closer role continues to present a question that has yet to be answered for the Boston Red Sox, but there's no denying Jake Diekman now is well-deserving of his shot.
Diekman entered Sunday night's game against the host Yankees in the ninth inning with the Red Sox clutching to a one-run lead and New York's power-hitting trio -- Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Joey Gallo -- all getting their turn at the dish. The 35-year-old journeyman, who was signed by the Red Sox in mid-March, responded by sitting all three down on strikeouts.
Diekman, who is playing for his sixth MLB team, earned the high-leverage save and helped Boston avoided a series sweep with a 4-3 victory.
"He was tonight," Red Sox manager Alex Cora responded when asked if Diekman is now the closer, per The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham.
Diekman threw 14 of his 19 total pitches for strikes while throwing all three of his pitches -- sinker, four-seam fastball, slider -- for strikes.
The continued absence of Matt Barnes, who Cora admitted he was hoping would take over the role, along with the extended relief appearances of Garrett Whitlock, left Boston with a ninth-inning void. But if Diekman puts together one or two more appearances like Sunday night, it's fair to think that hole may be filled before long.
Here are some other notes from Red Sox-Yankees:
-- Bobby Dalbec hit his first home run of the season Sunday, and the solo shot in the sixth inning proved to be the difference maker.
"I was just looking for a fastball out over the plate early," Dalbec said postgame on ESPN when asked about his home run. "Just try to put a good swing on it, stay inside the ball.
Dalbec added on ESPN: "Yeah, (the first win is) awesome. New faces in the locker room, new team from last year so, you know, it feels good to get a win. Clubhouse will loosen up a bit more, too."
-- Dalbec's solo home run was the 34th of his career to go along with 95 RBIs in 159 games. He now has the third-most home runs through 162 career games in franchise history, according to J.P. Long of Sox Notes. Most notably, Dalbec has one more home run than Red Sox legend Ted Williams in that span.
-- Garrett Whitlock was not one of the bullpen arms to make an impact Sunday, but he did make his own headlines with the organization. The Red Sox agreed to a four-year extension with Whitlock with the club holding options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
"I mean, it's an honor. You know, I told both Mr. Chaim (Bloom) and (manager Alex Cora), just like last year, when they took me in the Rule 5 Draft, it was an honor," Whitlock told reporters Sunday before the game.
-- Kutter Crawford was given the Red Sox scorecard for his first major league win Sunday and plans to get it framed, according to MassLive's Christopher Smith.
-- The Red Sox will leave New York and head to Detroit for their first of three games against the Tigers on Monday. First pitch is set for 5:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch that and an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.
