The New York Yankees are making waves in the Wild Card ever since adopting a pet turtle named Bronxie. With the turtle roaming the clubhouse and sparking confidence within the Yankee players, they have been unstoppable as of late. With the post-season in mind, the Yankees have taken a healthy two-game lead over the Boston Red Sox for the first place spot in the WC. Just last week, they were sitting below the Wild Card, and now they lead with a cushion as the Red Sox fell to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.
The Yankees have five games left in the regular season, but they aren’t out of the woods yet as Boston or Seattle could go on a winning streak. Boston is finishing up a series against Baltimore with two more games, having lost their last four contests; Boston is playing themselves right out of the playoffs.
However, a big reason the Yankees are playing well is slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who has been an absolute menace at the plate lately. Over his last five games, Stanton has recorded 10 hits over 28 bats, including four homers and 13 RBIs. His performance hasn’t been against lowly teams either, taking on Boston, Toronto, and Texas.
“We’re playing for keeps, we’re playing for a lot, and I think G is embodying that right now,” manager Aaron Boone said.
“Like I say all the time, he’s a unicorn,” Boone said of Stanton. “We just kind of shake our heads sometimes.”
Even Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoya was taken aback by Stanton’s three-run blast in the 7-2 victory over Toronto on Tuesday.
“I don’t know how you can hit a ball like that,” Montoyo said. “That ball was almost in the dirt, and he went and hit it out.”
The Yankees have also relied on another slugger, Aaron Judge, who hosts a .287 average this season. He recorded two hits and two RBIs in the victory but has been dealing with a slight injury, dislocating his pinky over the weekend.
“I felt like it was going to be OK,” Boone said, “but to see him go out and have immediate success and hit the ball like he did, that was certainly encouraging.”
Aside from Judge, starting pitcher, Jameson Taillon re-aggravated his ankle injury after pitching just 2.1 innings on Tuesday. He was replaced by Michael King, who gave up two hits and one run over 2.2 innings pitched. The bullpen was solid, helping get the Bombers out of any trouble, but Taillon leaving the game is undoubtedly a big problem with the postseason just around the bend.
“I could tell right away that he had re-aggaravated it,” Boone said of Taillon. “It was a quick decision for me to get him out of there.”
Hopefully, the Yankees can get some of the more prominent players healthy in the coming days, as Luis Severino has been working his way back diligently from consistent injuries over the past two years. He pitched one inning in the win, striking out one batter and not allowing a hit. Severino has looked solid so far, so if he continues to impress, he could earn a start down the road.