How hot Yankees rookie is making late run at postseason bullpen spot

Yankees left-hander Stephen Tarpley continued his hot streak Tuesday night by retiring two lefties in the seventh inning of a 9-2 win in Tampa Bay.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — What Yankees‘ September call-up Stephen Tarpley had in mind for this first big-league opportunity was “getting his feet wet.”

The 25-year-old lefty reliever planned on soaking in whatever incredible knowledge that would come from spending a month in one of baseball’s best bullpens. He also hoped to get into a few games and make a good impression.

Pitching his way onto the Yankees’ postseason roster wasn’t even in the back of Tarpley’s mind prior to his disastrous debut, let alone after.

A few weeks and a bunch of very good outings later, Tarpley is a contender.

“He’s pitching himself into the conversation,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday after Tarpley faced two lefties and retired both in the seventh inning of a 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

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His latest outing was a continuation of a hot streak in which he’s been called into games to face lefties.

A day after joining the Yankees on Sept. 1, the 6-foot-1, 235 pounder got into his first game and allowed three runs pitching the ninth inning of an 11-7 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium.

Because Tarpley had a lot of success this season pitching in Double-A and Triple-A, especially when facing lefties, the Yankees wanted to see more.

Seven more outings later, Tarpley hasn’t given up another run. A sinker/slider guy, Tarpley has facing 12 lefties and retired 10 while allowing one hit and issuing one walk.

“The more and more that I get to pitch, the more I feel comfortable,” said Tarpley, who has worked 5 2/3 shutout innings over his last seven appearances to lower his ERA to 4.05.

Here are a few samples of outings on his big-league resume:

— He faced three left-handers and retired all of them Monday night pitching a 1-2-3 second inning when the Yankees used eight relievers in a 4-1 win over Tampa Bay.

— He pitched to three Red Sox in the ninth inning of a 9-6 loss last Thursday, all lefties, and retired two. He walked Brock Holt, but then impressively struck out Rafael Devers and Mitch Moreland.

— He came on to start the eighth inning of a 10-8 win over Baltimore last Friday, then left after striking out the leadoff hitter, slugging lefty Chris Davis.

“He struggled obviously his first big-league outing, but since then he’s really found it and he’s a problem for left-handed hitters,” Boone said. “He’s really pounding the zone. That sinker combined with the slider makes it more a problem for lefties. It’s why he kind of got on our radar this year down in the minor leagues with the kind of year that he had.”

Tarpley began the season going 5-0 with a 1.26 ERA in 19 games with Double-A Trenton, then he was 2-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 17 games following a June 29 promotion to Triple-A.

Tarpley isn’t a young guy at 25 and the Yankees are his third pro organization. A third-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2013, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in January 2016 for outfielder Travis Snider, then moved to the Yankees in August 2016 with minor-league outfielder Tito Polo for pitcher Ivan Nova.

Two years later, Tarpley is a big leaguer who is making the Yankees think about keeping him on their postseason roster. 

“It’s awesome,” Tarpley said. “It’s something that I’ve been dreaming about, but I can’t overhype it. I have to continue doing what I’m doing.

“I have to keep on keeping on l, and if that’s the opportunity that I’m going to have in a week or so, I’ve just got to be ready for that and not overplay it too much.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.