ARLINGTON, Texas — The Yankees got a win they desperately needed Wednesday afternoon, getting past the Rangers, 3-2, to avoid what would have been an 0-6 road trip, which started with a weekend sweep by the Marlins in Miami. Three takeaways from the series against the Rangers leading into Thursday’s off day, with a three-game series against an old nemesis, the Astros, set to start Friday at the Stadium:
1. Wednesday’s victory was the one to finally get the Yankees rolling. Or not.
Let’s face it, a tiresome question after just about every close and/or dramatic victory by the Yankees over the last seven weeks as they’ve slumped has been some form of “Is this the spark that will start a long stretch of good baseball?” The answer has been a resounding “no” each time. Wednesday’s victory, highlighted by Paul Goldschmidt’s tie-breaking pinch-hit homer in the seventh inning and a gutty 42-pitch, five-out save by newcomer David Bednar, had the look of that kind of victory, but if the Yankees felt that way, they kept it to themselves. “If we don’t play well going forward, then it’s kind of going to be a meaningless win,” Goldschmidt said. “But if we play well going forward, then it will be a good one. The way we’ve played the last couple months has really put us in a position where we’ve got to play well these last however many games we’ve got [left].”
2. Giancarlo Stanton may well see some time in the field after all.
This seemed a long shot to occur this season but, with Aaron Judge seemingly not close, at least in the immediate future, of being cleared to play the field, Stanton could get some work in rightfield, perhaps as soon as this weekend. Judge, recovering from a right flexor strain in his elbow, DH’d Tuesday and Wednesday and began his throwing program before Wednesday’s game. But he only soft-tossed from 60 feet and, tempting as it may be, there’s no reason for him or the Yankees to expedite that process because of the risk of the two-time AL MVP incurring an even more serious injury. But Stanton has been one of the club’s most productive hitters since his season started June 16; he’s hitting .268 with 10 homers and an .868 OPS. Speaking of risk, it’s just that putting the 35-year-old in the outfield, where he hasn’t played in two years, but as long as Judge can’t play the field, it’s worth the risk to get Stanton’s bat in the lineup.
3. The Yankees have to get more length from their starters.
It seems as if, no matter who has started of late for the Yankees, that pitcher is out of the game by the sixth inning, if not before. Yes, the Yankees bulked up their bullpen and have more depth in that area than most teams do, but needing 12 outs each and every day from the group simply is not sustainable and, ultimately, is a recipe for disaster, especially for the stretch run in September.
Erik Boland started in Newsday’s sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.