One of the New York Yankees biggest storylines of the 2020 season was the struggles of Gary Sanchez. He looked absolutely lost most days and was even benched at times.
But suddenly, Sanchez has finally hit his stride. Just a week and a half away from the postseason, the Yankees are starting to see the Gary Sanchez that they need.
Sanchez has just 21 hits on the season, but seven of which came just this past week. He’s bat .292 with three home runs and nine runs batted in this week. On Friday, he hit a two-out, game-tying home run in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees would go on to win the game in extras, extending their win-streak to nine games.
Another big stat over the past week is a 1.162 OPS for him, meaning he’s getting on base and driving in runs. Over a third of his RBIs have been within the last week as well.
Things are looking up for the New York Yankees. Entering last Saturday, Sanchez entered with a .125 batting average, and has since raised it by over 30 points. Not just that, but the team is healthy again, making Sanchez feel more comfortable in the lineup. In a weeks span, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gio Urshela have all returned from injury.
And as the team has gotten healthier, the team’s gotten hotter. Just two weeks ago, it wasn’t even certain if the Yankees would make the postseason. They were trending downwards and were not healthy. But now, the team’s magic number is down to just two, meaning they can clinch as early as Saturday night.
With a healthy squad and a hot Gary Sanchez, the New York Yankees are looking very dangerous as the postseason nears.