Time running out for Yanks to start clicking
The pieces are slowly coming back, but will the Yankees have time to put them all back together? Aaron Judge and Aroldis Chapman could be ready to rejoin the roster in full before the end of this homestand, the last of the injured Yanks to make their way back from the disabled list.
But the Bombers aren't able to get all the parts clicking together yet. After a six-run, seventh- inning rally fell short, the Yankees lost to the Blue Jays 8-7 at the Stadium. They dropped their 10th game in their last 18.
With 15 regular season games left, Aaron Boone has to quickly find a way to get them back in sync.
“We have the group in there capable of turning this thing in a heartbeat,” the Yankee manager said. “We've just got to keep battling through this right now. I feel like we're showing some signs of pulling ourselves out of it a little bit, but we've got to do better. We've got to get more consistent and that's been the toughest thing for us right now. We've come out (Friday night) like gangbusters and played really well and fell back today that kept us from getting that roll. I also feel like we're a few games away from getting on that roll, we can start rolling down hill and can start beating some people up. “We have to get there.” With the A's nipping on their heels for the top American League wild card spot — and the home field advantage that comes with it — the Yankees are running out of time to put everything back together again. They have a 1.5game lead on the spot after the A's lost to the Rays later Saturday night.
“We're in a dogfight,” Boone said. “These games are really important and what they do….doesn't change it, but these games are really important. It's important that we put our best foot forward, we're in a good position to get to where we want to go.
“But we've got to go take it.”
The manager saw some good signs Saturday with Didi Gregorius starting to flash the power that makes him so dangerous. He hit two home runs in the loss.
His first, a solo shot off Jake Petricka in the sixth, was his 25th of the season and tied his own franchise record for most home runs in a single season by a shortstop. His second, another solo home run but off Danny Barnes, set a new record.
Gregorius had broken the previous record of 24, set by future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, in 2017.
It was the sixth time in his career that he had hit two homers in a game — the fifth time this season.
“I definitely feel like Didi is gaining some traction in a big way, starting to play well for us and have some quality atbats,” Boone said. “As we get more and more people into the fold, that's going to continue to help. Getting that consistency from everyone, that allows our lineup to be really dynamic when we are getting contributions from everyone.”
Giancarlo Stanton also broke out of his homer slump with a solo shot in the seventh. Miguel Andujar hit his second career grand slam, all good signs.
Still, the Yankees went 2for-10 with runners in scoring position, and watching CC Sabathia get chased after 2.1 innings having allowed five runs also showed they aren't heading into the final stretch playing their best.
“You want to be playing well right now, obviously you want to be pitching better, but we've got more games to play,” Sabathia said. “We'll just keep coming out hard and trying to win the series.”
Unfortunately, the Yankees are quickly running out of games to try and put everything back together.