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Now that they’ve done something real in the postseason – beating the Royals in four games in the AL Division Series – maybe it’s time to believe in these Yankees.
Weeks ago, it seemed like folly to buy-in that they were a genuine October threat, what with the way their weird season swerved from dominance to doldrums and annoying lapses piled up alongside all that Aaron Judge-Juan Soto magic.
Heck, the Yanks played so poorly for so long that they were a losing team over their last 90 games of the regular season. They won the AL East in part, at least, because the Orioles bumbled enough themselves that they couldn’t take it away. Hardly inspiring stuff heading into the playoffs, even if they had the most wins in the American League.
They had plenty to prove. And in this first step, perhaps the Yankees have started something that could go a long way. The rest of the league, after all, has fallen the Yankees way. The Astros are long gone from the postseason tournament, a dead menace that previously had wiped out the Yanks the last three times they’ve gotten to the AL Championship Series. They can’t hurt the Yankees this time.
And in beating the youthful, talented Royals, the Yankees seemed to unearth a few things that’ll be valuable going forward. They got big hits from bats other than Judge and Soto. Their bullpen thrived, dominating the Royals. They got an ace-level start from Gerrit Cole (one out of two ain’t bad, especially since they won Game 1 anyway, though he delivered a not-so-ace-like start).
Giancarlo Stanton was the best offensive player in the series. He wrecked Game 3 when the rest of the team went just 1-for-25 and had three hits, including that crucial, tie-breaking homer. Overall, Stanton went 6-for-16 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI. He batted .375 with a .444 on-base percentage and a .688 slugging percentage, continuing his assault on the Yankee postseason record books.
Gleyber Torres (.867 OPS) delivered. So did Anthony Volpe (.438 on-base). Jon Berti can clearly play first base, their main on-field trouble spot, and so can Oswaldo Cabrera.
“We faced a lot of adversity in the regular season, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of tough times, a lot of good times,” Judge said in the MLB interview room afterward. “To come away with the best record in the AL was huge for us, and then you go to the first game (of this series) where they punch us, we punch them, they punch us back, we take back the lead. Just a lot of back and forth, which that’s what’s going to happen in the postseason.
“You guys have been watching the postseason and what’s been going on. Just a lot of lead changes and who can keep throwing punches when you’re getting beat on. A lot of fight out of these guys.
“Just no quit in this team. They’ll fight.”
Judge included. He did not get off to a good start in the series, but he crushed a few over the final two games of the series, including a long double in Game 4. Overall, he was just 2-for-13 (.154), though he drew five walks and had a .389 on-base percentage.
Even without a monster contribution from Judge – or from Soto, who had three of his four hits in Game 1 – the Yankees still won the series. That probably says something good about them.
So does this: The Yankee bullpen was a collective star in the series, throwing 15.2 innings and only allowing an unearned run. According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, that’s the third-most bullpen innings in a postseason series where a team did not allow an earned run. Only the 1991 Twins in the ALCS (18.1 innings) and 2017 Dodgers in the NLCS (17) had more. Those Twins won the World Series and the Dodgers played in the Fall Classic.
Only weeks after he was demoted from the closer’s role, Clay Holmes was terrific, throwing five scoreless innings. Holmes deserves serious credit. Luke Weaver saved three games, throwing 4.1 spotless frames, and Tommy Kahnle added three scoreless innings in three appearances.
“I thought we played a real clean brand of baseball and won some games in different ways,” Yankee manager Aaron Boone said in the postgame interview room, “whether it was the pitching, whether it was the defense making a play, whether it was heavy, long at-bats that grinded them down a little bit.
“Yeah,” Boone added, “A good series against a good club.”
And, maybe, a good reason to start believing in this Yankee team. They do.
“I’m always betting on our guys, man,” Judge said. “There’s something special here. I think we got a little bit of the ghost from the old stadium, a little bit of magic there, too.”