The Yankees landed in Buffalo at the start of the week seemingly at rock bottom. After getting walloped by the Phillies to drop both games in Philly over the weekend, the Yanks sat in fourth place in AL East at just a game over .500.
Before beginning their three-game set against the Blue Jays, who have enjoyed plenty of success against the Yanks already this year, general manager Brian Cashman stepped in front of the microphone for his second state-of-the-team address of the season. Questions of Aaron Boone’s security as manager were asked, and Cashman continued to back Boone. But the results weren’t showing.
Until this week in Buffalo.
Finally, the Yankees and their offense showed signs of life, and more importantly, signs of resilience. In all three games of the series, the Yanks trailed in the seventh inning or later. But in all three games, the Yankees came out on top, marking the first time in franchise history that the Bombers swept a three-game series after trailing in the seventh inning or later in all three games. Sure, the Blue Jays bullpen has been mainly a disaster all season, but it was just the type of series the Yankees needed.
“We’ve gone through some tough challenges already this season…but this was a big series for us,” Boone said, after Thursday’s win to complete the sweep. “This is a good team we’re playing over there, a division rival and a team that has beaten us a bit this year already. To come up here, coming off of a tough weekend…to come up here and really bounce back and have some gut-check wins…it was exciting to pull this out tonight.”
It was also a big series for Boone, who amid questions about the potential time for a managerial change, pulled all the right strings in all three games. In the series opener, he went to Clint Frazier off the bench, who ripped the go-ahead double in the top of the eighth. One night later, Boone called on Gary Sanchez off the bench, and the catcher blasted a go-ahead home run in the seventh to give the Yanks another one-run win. On Thursday night, he called on rookie Chris Gittens in the seventh inning, and he responded with a two-run single to open up a three-run lead.
“That’s them being ready,” Boone said. “That’s them getting into situations where they had a chance to do something, and they’re the ones coming through in that spot. Kudos to them being ready for whatever the situation called for.”
Boone was aggressive in his decision making, even having Aroldis Chapman up in the bullpen as the Yanks held a four-run lead in the ninth. But that only further highlighted just how badly the Yankees needed an uplifting sweep.
“I think everyone senses the urgency and knows we haven’t played up to our capabilities the first third-plus of the season,” Boone said. “But I don’t think anyone’s ever lost confidence, and even on this trip.”
There’s still plenty of work to do, and the Yanks have shown teases before, like the offensive awakening in Minnesota that was followed by the flop in Philadelphia. But a sweep over the Blue Jays was a big step toward climbing back to where the Yanks feel they belong. Now, they hope to make it a springboard rather than another blip on the radar.
“I feel like over the last 10 days or so, we’re getting closer to what we can be,” Boone said. “We have to keep at it.”
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