Unexpected Heroes Lead Yanks’ Recent Run
Photo Via: Charles Wenzelberg — NY PostAre you kidding me? What has happened to this team? About a month ago the Yankees were sitting 10 games behind Boston, who was beating up on them every other week. The Yanks were not even in a Postseason spot if the season had ended at that point. Now, after a sweep of the BoSox, the Yankees are 1.5 games ahead of Boston and currently hold the top spot in the A.L. Wild Card race.
Obviously, Cashman had a busy trade deadline getting Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo, which was fantastic. But it’s not like we have had our best lineup out there each night. Over the past month (approximately), the following players have spent time on the injured list:
Aaron Judge
Gerrit Cole
Anthony Rizzo
Jonathan Loáisiga
Jordan Montgomery
Gary Sánchez
Gio Urshela
Luke Voit
Nestor Cortes Jr.
Gleyber Torres
Aroldis Chapman
Domingo Germán
Wandy Peralta
Clay Holmes
Zack Britton
Kyle Higashioka
Michael King
Not to mention the team already has long-term or season-ending injuries to Corey Kluber, Luis Severino, Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier, Miguel Andújar, Tim Locastro, and Darren O’Day. Even some guys who came up to help like Ryan LaMarre, Trey Amburgey, and Chris Gittens have spent time on the injured list.
The point is this: the Yankees are not winning games because everything is going right and their A-team is out there leaving it all on the field seven days every week. From top to bottom, guys are stepping up and making plays. Having Joey Gallo hit clutch moonshots every now and then helps a ton. Having Anthony Rizzo scoop baseballs up with ease at first base helps a ton. Getting Stanton to play the outfield and free up the DH-spot a few times a week so other plays can get off their feet helps a ton. But the New York Yankees just swept the Boston Red Sox in a series where Andrew Velazquez led the team in RBI. The series even ended on a sparkler of a defensive play that our Twitter account can’t stop thinking about.
Luis Gil is another example of a player who has stepped up and done a job. Through three career starts, he has yet to allow a run. The best part? He has not even been officially added to the roster yet. He served as a replacement player during the COVID outbreak and was the 27th man for the doubleheader. This man is quite literally an emergency pitcher and has yet to allow a run.
Albert Abreu has been on the Scranton Shuttle for a while now. After any given game, you might see the Yankees tweet out that Abreu was optioned to Triple-A as the Yanks play musical chairs with the bullpen. In his last three outings, Abreu has a save, a hold, and a win. He had fewer than 2 innings of major league experience before this season and he has already made an impact on this team.
The true team aspect of baseball has been highlighted by this current stretch. You need your superstars, but after that, you need a batch of understudies to play their part.
Last note: Over the current 6-game winning streak, the Yankees have 6 saves from 5 different relievers (Abreu, Peralta, Green, Loáisiga, Green, Luetge — in that order). Everybody is stepping up.