The Yankees have won two in a row after taking a series from a perennial playoff contender in the Guardians, and now hold a 1.5 game lead over the Orioles for first place in the AL East.
In what has been a season of intense highs and frustrating lows, the Yankees have now gotten consecutive dominant pitching performances, while the offense is thriving behind Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
For Keith McPherson, these last two games need to be a launching pad for the team to take off and go on the kind of run they rattled off to start the season, and ride that wave to the franchise’s first pennant in 15 years.
“This is the stretch. Don’t let us down,” Keith said. “It’s ‘right in front of you.’ Don’t let us down with the lineup or seeing some of the same guys…the two games you won in this series, I don’t think as many people were fussing about the lineup as much.
“This should be the year. You’re about to celebrate your last title in 15 years on Old Timers’ Day this weekend.”
Keith isn’t worried about the likes of Judge, Soto, and Gerrit Cole, but he wants to see some of the supporting cast show up down the stretch, while some of the struggling veterans like DJ LeMahieu and Alex Verdugo should take a seat so the Yanks can maximize their lineup and leave no doubt the rest of the way.
“Gleyber Torres, this is his last hurrah. Lock in buddy,” Keith said. “I hope Judge was right about you.
“This has to be the stretch right here…we’re trying to win. We can’t have a guy [in LeMahieu] who Father Time has completely caught up to.”