The weekend couldn’t have gone a lot better for the Yankees.
By sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals on the street, the Yankees (67-57) went again to being 10 video games above .500 for the primary time since Aug. 1.
They gained floor within the American League East on the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Purple Sox, who each misplaced Sunday, and moved nearer within the AL wild card race to the Seattle Mariners, who dropped two of three to the Mets.
And the Yankees elevated their cushion for the third and closing AL wild card spot to three.5 video games over the Cleveland Guardians, who have been swept at dwelling by the wayward Atlanta Braves.
Add all of it up, and the Yankees entered Monday’s off day 5.5 video games behind the Blue Jays and a half-game behind Boston within the division. They started the day a half-game behind Boston and Seattle for the highest two wild card positions.
“I think we know we’re a good team,” supervisor Aaron Boone stated after Sunday’s 8-4 win. “We believe that, even through some of the down times and some dark moments of the season. I don’t think we’ve ever lost that confidence. Look, we’re capable of this. We’ve got to go prove it.”
With six weeks left within the common season, the video games don’t get any much less necessary from right here.
The Yankees’ subsequent six are in opposition to divisional opponents, beginning with two video games in Tampa in opposition to the Rays, adopted by 4 in opposition to the Purple Sox within the Bronx.
The pesky Rays (61-64) can by no means be disregarded, however the Yankees are catching them on the proper time.
Tampa is 9-17 since July 20, with three of these losses coming throughout a four-game sequence within the Bronx on the finish of the final month. Over that stretch, the Rays are hitting an MLB-worst .220 and averaging solely 3.5 runs per recreation.
The Yankees are 7-4 in opposition to the Rays this 12 months, together with 3-1 at George M. Steinbrenner Subject. Steinbrenner Subject, after all, is the Yankees’ spring coaching ballpark, however the Rays are renting it this season after Hurricane Milton badly broken Tropicana Subject.
Carlos Rodón (12-7, 3.25 ERA) is about to begin Tuesday night time’s sequence opener for the Yankees, whereas right-hander Shane Baz (8-9, 4.93 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for Tampa.
Rodón is contemporary off one in every of his finest begins of the season, having restricted the Minnesota Twins to 1 run and one hit over seven innings final week.
In April, the All-Star left-hander hurled six shutout innings with 9 strikeouts in opposition to the Rays in Tampa. The Yankees tagged Baz for 5 runs in 3.1 innings throughout that very same sequence.
The Yankees may have their work reduce out for them on Wednesday, as Tampa is about to begin right-hander Drew Rasmussen (10-5, 2.60 ERA).
Rasmussen has lengthy dominated the Yankees, with an 0.85 ERA over six appearances, together with 5 begins, in his profession. He’s 1-1 in opposition to them this season.
The Yankees will counter with flame-throwing rookie Cam Schlittler, who’s 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA in six profession begins.
This week’s video games are the primary between the divisional foes since they struck a deadline-day commerce that despatched utilityman José Caballero to the Yankees.
Caballero, who entered Monday with an MLB-high 39 stolen bases, has made an on the spot influence with the Yankees, hitting .333 with 5 steals in 10 video games. His pace helped spark the Yankees’ go-ahead rally within the ninth inning of Sunday’s win.
“I’m trying to make [opponents] hate me,” Caballero stated Sunday. “I don’t want them to like me. I’m just trying to mess with them. I don’t want them to have the full attention on what they’re doing. I’d rather them have a little more attention on me.”
The Yankees went 20-31 from June 13 to Aug. 10, a stretch by which they squandered their AL East lead and fell into third place within the division.
However they’ve received back-to-back sequence since then and are averaging 6.7 runs per recreation over their final six video games.
“This was a good week for us to win five out of six games, but there’s a lot of tough opponents coming up,” first baseman Paul Goldschmidt stated. “We’ll try to play well and keep going. We definitely have a chance.”
The sequence in opposition to Boston will command appreciable consideration, contemplating it’s the Purple Sox’s closing journey to Yankee Stadium this season.
The Yankees’ two-month slide started in mid-June when the Purple Sox received two of three within the Bronx. The Purple Sox then swept the Yankees in Boston every week later, giving them a 5-1 head-to-head document in opposition to their century-old rival.
With the Yankees and Purple Sox preventing for the AL East crown and for positioning within the wild card standings, this week’s sequence comes with vital ramifications.
The Yankees haven’t introduced their possible pitchers for that sequence, however they’re lined as much as begin Luis Gil, Max Fried, Will Warren and Rodón.
The Purple Sox are scheduled to make use of Lucas Giolito (8-2, 3.63 ERA), Brayan Bello (8-6, 3.25 ERA) and ace Garrett Crochet (13-5, 2.48 ERA) within the first three video games.
The Yankees are nonetheless navigating a difficult state of affairs with Aaron Decide restricted to DH obligation as he recovers from a flexor pressure in his proper elbow and Giancarlo Stanton needing additional time to recuperate after 5 consecutive days — together with 4 begins — in proper subject.
Stanton didn’t begin any of the video games in St. Louis, although he did pinch-hit and draw a stroll throughout Sunday’s decisive rally.
Decide, in the meantime, heated up over the weekend, going 3-for-6 with a house run, a double, two RBI and 4 walks within the sequence’ closing two video games.
The Yankees have the best remaining schedule within the American League, based on Tankathon, with seven video games in opposition to the Baltimore Orioles, seven in opposition to the Chicago White Sox, three in opposition to the Washington Nationals and three in opposition to the Twins.
A lot of these video games come within the season’s closing two weeks.
However for these to matter, the Yankees have to deal with their enterprise earlier than then.
“When we play like we’re supposed to play, these are the results you’re going to get,” Warren stated Sunday. “We’ve been staying with the process. We haven’t strayed from anything we’ve done. Just head down, keep going, and we’re starting to win again.”
