FROM LONDON TO LOSERVILLE
YANKEES STEAM INTO SINKING CITI FOR SUBWAY SERIES
LONDON — After meeting a Prince on Saturday, the Yankees have to face Queens. After having had 118,718 fans cheer — and some even boo and jeer — them over a weekend across the pond, it’s on to Citi Field and the Subway Series in Flushing. The historic London Series, the first ever MLB regular-season games in Europe, is done. Having met Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, or the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they are known here, before Saturday’s game, it’s off to meet the struggling Mets.
The Yankees said there will not be a letdown.
“I think we’re all looking forward to going home,” Yankees AllStar second baseman DJ LeMahieu said. “It’s been a good trip, but we’re excited to get home and take on the Mets.”
The Yankees enjoyed the experience in London, but will welcome the return to normal.
The last week was a whirlwind. They were feted and celebrated in London as part of MLB’s initiative to grow it’s customer base in the yet unexploited
European market. In a sport that is based on the grind of a 162-game season and prides itself on its routine, the last five days were extraordinary. The Yankees had three days off in that span, flew nearly 7,000 miles and played two of the strangest games of baseball in their lives.
Now, it’s time to turn the page on the glamorous experience (and ugly games) of London and Aaron Boone feels his team is ready to roll with whatever is next.
“It’s one of the things we try and talk about all the time. No matter the circumstances, no matter what we are going through as a club, whether it’s playing great, whether we’re scuffling, where we are, if it’s a big event, there is an expectation that we bring a certain energy and focus and enjoyment of the game,” the Yankees manager said before leaving London Stadium Sunday. “These guys do a great job of that. So, any kind of wrinkle you throw at them. They’ve done a really good job of handling what comes their way. We work really hard to try and keep things as routine and normal as possible when there is a little wrinkle in the schedule like this.”
They seem to thrive on the challenges. They return with the second-best record in baseball at 54-28, only behind the Dodgers (57-29) and with a commanding lead in their division. They maintained their seven-game lead over the Rays during this wild trip and effectively put the Red Sox (now 11 games behind) in their rearview mirror.
And they have managed that despite having taken the most injury hits in the game. Miguel Andujar is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Ace Luis Severino has not thrown a pitch this season because of shoulder and lat injuries, but the Yankees are “hopeful,” after his latest setback he will pitch sometime this season. The same for Dellin Betances, who has missed the entire first half with a shoulder and lat issue. They missed Aaron Judge for 53 games because of an oblique injury and Giancarlo Stanton has missed 69 and counting with his fourth different injury of the season. CC Sabathia’s been on the IL
twice, James Paxton once and Domingo German is just now close to coming off.
“I think they’ve had a singular mindset of ‘We’re here to win. What can we do to win a ballgame?’” Boone said. “There’s been a genuine unselfishness I feel like with all of our guys. We’ve got a long way to go, so I temper it with that, but probably the thing that I’m most happy with at this point is that mindset, ‘It’s not necessarily about me, it’s about us and what can I do to play a part in us winning a ballgame?’
“And we’ve won games in a lot of different ways this year. And a lot of people have had a significant hand in that.”
This weekend they sure did. The converted London Stadium, the former Olympic track and field venue, was a paradise for hitters. Not so much for pitchers.
They had to use 15 different pitchers and 12 of them pitched both days to get through 18 innings. That included going to high-leverage relievers Adam Ottavino, Zack Britton and closer Aroldis Chapman both days to protect a lead that was never safe with the lightning fast turf and the small dimensions.
The Yankees return after a wild two-game series that featured 50 runs and 65 hits, including 10 doubles and 10 home runs.
But Gary Sanchez, who left Sunday’s game with a jammed left thumb but expects to be fine, said that it won’t be hard re-adjusting to “normal,” baseball at Citi Field on Tuesday.
“At the end of the day, we’re playing the same sport,” the All-Star catcher said through Yankees interpreter Marlon Abreu. “The concentration and focus doesn’t change. You are still playing baseball. We did that here and we’ll do the same when we go back home and face the Mets.”