The calendar indicates that the Yankees' season is still in an early stage. But their growing penchant for late lighting could foreshadow a September and October filled with excitement and rewards.
It's not just that this youngster-driven lineup has shown comeback ability 11 times so far. But their four wins in the final at-bat -- awkwardly-named "walk-off" victories -- just emphasizes that they can pull out a home game anytime. And that's a dangerous quality to have, especially when battling a hated rival like the Red Sox for divisional supremacy.
It's good for the fans, certainly. As fun as it may be to watch Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton or Gary Sanchez bludgeon somebody as Stanton did in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Athletics, imagine the emotional charge the home crowd gets from a winning hit in the last at-bat.
Whether it's Sanchez blasting a homer to beat the Twins on April 26, Miguel Andujar stroking the single that beat Cleveland on May 4 or 21-year-old Gleyber Torres having the biggest moment of his young career with a homer two days later to victimize the Indians again, it's hard to beat that kind of satisfaction.
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Especially when it caps off a comeback, as it did Saturday.
Who in the Bronx didn't feel good when Neil Walker, who struggled so mightily at the season's start, ended that 11-inning, four-hour and 15-minute marathon with a single off Oakland's Chris Hatcher.
The fans are one thing. For a roster, a walk-off carries weight that goes beyond a Gatorade shower like the one Torres received as he crossed the plate or the sunflower seed bath Walker received after he touched first base. They are mini confidence boosters that tell a team that no game in the Bronx is ever out of reach.
When a team is trying to shape a pennant race even at this early stage, that's important. And Yankees manager Aaron Boone knows it.
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"It speaks to the resiliency of this room," he said of the most recent walk-off, which was set up by the four-run fifth inning that brought the Yanks back from a 6-2 deficit. "Not just the talent level, but the mindset. We're never out of a game. No lead is too big to overcome."
Put a bunch of walk-offs together, and good things happen over time. Not that they're the be all and end all to success. The Yanks had only five of those last year and came within a game of going to the World Series. But their four at this early point, all at home, puts them on pace to equal or better the whopping 15 walk-offs they had in 2009.
If that year sounds familiar, it should be. It was the last time the Yanks won a World Series. And in the middle of that cluster -- their ninth, exactly -- came one of the oddest walk-off wins anyone ever saw anywhere.
It happened June 12, ironically against the crosstown rival Mets.
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The Mets went into the ninth up 8-7 when, with one out, Derek Jeter singled and stole second. Pinch-hitter Johnny Damon struck out, and Mark Teixeira drew an intentional walk to put men on first and second.
All seemed lost on that calm, warm, dry evening when Alex Rodriguez lofted a soft, easy pop to Luis Castillo.
The second baseman had probably made a thousand and one catches on that kind of pop-up without incident since Little League. But on that night, the ball popped out of his glove and hit the ground.
Jeter scored, which was understandable considering both runners broke on the crack of the bat. But there was no way Teixeira should have scored from first. Most runners in his position would have given up the play, stopped at second and settled for the tying run, leaving it to the next guy, Robinson Cano, to knock him in or head into extra innings.
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But Tex busted it all the way. Around third, he raced as the flustered Castillo fumbled around for the ball. Teixeira slid home just ahead of the throw, jumped into Jeter's arms and asked, "What happened?"
The Yanks had their 35th of 103 wins that season, broke a three-game losing streak and stayed two games behind the AL East-leading Red Sox.
It's worth pointing out that opponents walked off against then-manager Joe Girardi's only championship team four times the whole season.
From that point, the Yanks went 68-33. It took them more than a month to finally overtake Boston, but when they did, they never fell back again and finished eight games up.
The current Yankees still have a lot of road ahead of them, a lot of winning to do before they even come in spitting distance of that 2009 team.
But their early trend toward what was once called "Five O'Clock Lightning" is nothing if not encouraging.
Follow Ernie on Twitter at @ErniePalladino
