NEW YORK -- If the Yankees want to go far in the postseason this year, they’ll need right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga to get a lot of big outs. He was able to get those Tuesday in a 4-1 victory over the Guardians in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium.

After replacing Gerrit Cole with one out in the seventh inning, Loáisiga allowed a single to Steven Kwan to put runners on first and second. Amed Rosario followed and hit into a double play to end the threat. Loáisiga’s work was done.

Loáisiga, 27, has been a key member of New York’s bullpen dating back to last year, but this year’s Yankees bullpen has been hampered by injuries.

Chad Green, Michael King and Zack Britton -- all of them key members -- are out for the season. Right-hander Ron Marinaccio could be back for the AL Championship Series. It also doesn’t help that Aroldis Chapman was left off the playoff roster because he didn’t report to a mandatory workout last Friday. But Loáisiga is one guy manager Aaron Boone can rely on.

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“It’s huge [to have Loáisiga],” Boone said. “He's a great pitcher, and as we've talked about a lot … I know people feel like we have a lot of questions in the bullpen; fair. We don't have the ‘this guy is the closer’ and all these certain roles.

“But I do feel like right now, even though we have experienced some attrition down there, we have a lot of really talented options down there, and [Loáisiga] is right in the middle of that.”

Injuries hamper Loáisiga
After the 2022 season started, the Yankees were wondering if Loáisiga was going to be a reliable option out of the bullpen. He had a first half to forget. Opponents were hitting .297 against him, and to make matters worse, Loáisiga was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation on May 25. He didn’t return until July 14, when he allowed three runs and got two outs against the Reds.

After that, it started to click for Loáisiga. He ended up with a 1.82 ERA after the All-Star break and finished a game eight times. Loáisiga figured out what he needed to do to be productive, and it had to do with making adjustments with his mechanics.

“The idea was to keep executing, throwing the ball the same way I was doing it when I started the season,” Loáisiga said through interpreter Marlon Abreu. “But yeah, just minor tweaking in the mechanics, and have the same conviction executing pitches. I felt like if I did that, eventually I would start getting the results I wanted.”

The results have made the people of Nicaragua proud. Loáisiga is one of only two active Nicaraguans (Nationals pitcher Erasmo Ramírez is the other) to play in the big leagues this year. Loáisiga is happy to represent his country.

“So to have that opportunity [to play baseball], it's great,” Loáisiga said. “And at the same time, it feels like a responsibility that I carry because the entire country is watching. You know, some of those that are watching are kids. [I’m] very excited that things are working out well, and they can see a fellow countryman perform at this stage.”