The Yankees, after three straight days off, are now playing their third game in less than 24 hours on Monday afternoon.
They are also in the early stages of a stretch in which they will play 23 games in 22 days, and the offense didn’t get off to a great start in that stretch, scoring a combined four runs in Sunday’s doubleheader.
“Just ebbs and flow,” Anthony Rizzo said. “Sometimes you come through. The more we put ourselves in those positions to come through, the better off I think we’ll be.
“Tough conditions today, but no excuses. We have to put our best foot forward.”
Rizzo didn’t believe the layoff had an effect on the Yankee offense, but playing 18 innings in one day after seven-inning twin bills were the norm for the previous two seasons did feel like an adjustment.
“Giving a team with a lot of 30-plus year olds a couple days off is nice for all of us,” Rizzo said. “Guys were feeling nice and fresh…I think the two nines, playing that the first time in a couple years.”
Given the team’s collective age and injury history, the challenge for Aaron Boone over the next three weeks will be giving his players rest while still keeping the team’s hold atop the AL East. But Rizzo says that plays into Boone’s strengths, and isn’t concerned about the workload during this grueling part of the schedule.
“It’s gonna be just one at a time,” Rizzo said. “For me, it’s a home series, a road series, a home series, and a road series. Boone does a great job and will do a great job of picking spots for everyone and making sure we’re well rested. I’d rather be doing this in May than the end of September going into the playoffs.
“These are stretches during the year that you always have, one or two, and we just started it.”
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