NOT FATHER’S YANKS!
Grit & guts signs of a new Bomber era
There were seemingly a million ways the Yankees could have lost to the A’s on Saturday, yet somehow they grinded out an ugly, walk-filled win that might be best forgotten except for what it says about a refuseto-lose grit that is fast becoming this team’s signature trait.
In rallying from a 6-2 deficit to win 7-6 in 11 innings, these Yankees pulled off their 11th comeback win of the season already, and surely it’s more than a fluke, as dangerous as they are offensively.
Sometimes, in fact, it seems the game is just getting interesting when this team falls behind, and the sense of anticipation at the Stadium in the late innings is palpable, especially after all the heroics on this homestand.
To be honest, the atmosphere was a long way from Red Soxelectric for much of this day, except for the four-run rally in the fifth inning that started with Aaron Judge’s 11th home run.
Seventeen walks will tend to take the life out of the building, especially when neither team is doing much capitalizing, but finally, the revitalized Neil Walker made A’s reliever Chris Hatcher pay for the final two walks of the day, singling home Gary Sanchez for their fourth walk-off win of the season.
They also needed the benefit of replay on an oh-so-close tag play at the plate that kept the game tied in the ninth, but here’s the bottom line:
These are the types of wins, with the Yankees perhaps still a little groggy from their spectacular play of late, as well all the intensity of the Red Sox series, that can make the difference in winning the division
Indeed, this team has already proven it can play at a high level against the best teams in the American League, having just gone 11-2 against the Angels, Astros, Indians, and Red Sox. But can they dig deep on a regular basis against mediocre and bad teams when the adrenaline isn’t flowing?
That might be what separates the Yankees and Red Sox at season’s end. As evenly-matched as they seem to be, neither is likely to dominate the 19 games between them, so it might just be days like this one that prove especially meaningful in a race that figures to go to the wire.
Indeed, losing three straight after their 17of-18 run, with two of them coming against the A’s, would have been a bad look.
As it is, suddenly there are concerns again about the pitching, after a third straight game in which the starters put the team in an early hole, as Domingo German proved he wasn’t quite so unhittable, after all, coming unglued just when it looked like he might be the find of the year. And, in truth, that storyline might be as significant as the comeback theme. After all, just when it was beginning to look like the talk about the need to add a pitcher was being overdone, CC Sabathia offered a reminder that it’s unrealistic to expect consistent dominance from him at age 37, then Sonny Gray went back to being a guy whose results don’t match up with his high-quality arsenal of pitches. And on Saturday German couldn’t quite follow up the six innings of no-hit brilliance in his debut as a starter, seeming to lose his confidence as the A’s got to him for five runs in a fourth inning that included three walks and a three-run home run by Khris Davis.
It was puzzling because for three innings he looked as dominant as last Sunday.
As Aaron Boone said, “He was on the attack, working fast, pounding the zone, just like his last start. And he just kind of lost his command and his rhythm.”
German’s quality stuff still makes him intriguing, as he fills in for the injured Jordan Montgomery, but Saturday’s implosion lowers the expectations overall for him.
And so we come back to the question of just how good the starting pitching is for this team. As good as it has been lately, every dip in performance no doubt gives Brian Cashman more reason to be thinking ahead, pondering what price he’ll be willing to pay in terms of prospects to
add starting pitching at the trade deadline this summer.
That decision too could be determined by the closeness of the race with the Red Sox.
All of which makes wins like this one potentially vital, as the Yankees are quickly establishing what they consider a blue-collar work ethic in terms of pounding away with their high-scoring offense, knowing they’re never out of games.
“I know we’re going to keep grinding out at-bats,” was the way Boone put it. “And I know with our guys, we’re a big swing or two from being right back in it.’’
In the end, that formula added up to a feel-good win, as little-used A.J. Cole pitched two scoreless innings at the end to get the win, and Walker, proving his worth lately after a dreadful April, delivered the game-winner.
As such these comeback kids turned a seemingly forgettable day into the type of win that championship-caliber teams so often find ways to pull out.