The calendar has flipped to a new month, and with the Yankees flying high after a 5-1 road trip to Boston and Philadelphia, it may be time to declare that their summer swoon has come to an end.
The Bombers wrapped up a three-game sweep of the Phillies on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park, powered by DJ LeMahieu’s career-high six RBIs, including a grand slam. Nestor Cortes, who picked up the victory, is ready to consider a corner turned.
“The stretch was pretty long, but I think it was only a matter of time where we were going to turn it on again,” Cortes said. “Hopefully, the way we’re playing, we keep playing. We keep coming with that intensity every single day, we come with a mentality of winning every single day and we keep moving forward with it.”
The hot streak has coincided with the Yankees’ moves ahead of the Trade Deadline, most significantly their acquisition of infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm, Jr., who provided an instant impact.
Now the starting third baseman, Chisholm became the first Yankee to hit four home runs in his first three games with the club.
“It feels great, being part of a winning team and helping them win,” Chisholm said. “We’re trying to make the playoffs right now. We’re trying to get [championship] No. 28 right now.”
“Jazz coming over here, being an instant spark for us, has helped us a lot,” said outfielder Alex Verdugo.
Though no one has dismissed the six-week span in which the Yankees played like one of baseball’s worst teams, zoom out and the picture looks much brighter.
As they enjoy Thursday’s off-day ahead of a weekend series with the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, no team has more wins than the Yankees (65-45), who sit a half-game behind the Orioles (65-44) in the American League East.
“With our own team, inside here and in the clubhouse, we know who we’ve got,” Verdugo said. “We know who we are as a whole. We’ve got each other’s backs, no matter what. We knew it was just a matter of time before we started getting out of our little funk with everybody contributing. Obviously the big guys for us are; they’ve been there all year.”
New York’s schedule suggests that there could be more winning on tap. The Yanks play only two teams this month with a record better than .500: the Guardians (Aug. 20-22) and the Cardinals (Aug. 30-Sept. 1).
“We’re playing well, and we know we’re good,” manager Aaron Boone said. “When we play well, we can beat anyone. The past is the past, and the reality is, we’ve got two months of baseball to hopefully put us in a position to play for something meaningful in October.”
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