BUFFALO, N.Y. — It may not have been dramatic, but the Yankees' come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field Tuesday night was a huge one. They came into this series stumbling, trying to stay above .500 and with their general manager showing up to talk about fixing this thing.
After a leadoff single from Miguel Andujar in the top of the eighth, pinch hitter Clint Frazier doubled in pinch runner Tyler Wade for the go-ahead run off Jordan Romano.
For Frazier, it was just his third hit in his last nine games. For the Yankees, that was as big a run as they have had all year.
The Yankees (34-32) had lost three straight, including a shutout against the Phillies on Sunday. They had dropped to nine games back in the division, behind the Rays, Red Sox and Blue Jays.
Even the normally eternally optimistic Yankees manager Aaron Boone seemed to snap on Sunday when he responded to a question about his players being resigned to losing with a “Hell no.”
He admitted before Tuesday’s game that he feels the urgency and the pressure to turn this around.
“I wear that. I feel that," Boone said. "You’re invested in this job and you care about what’s going on and how your team performs and care about the guys in that room and your staff. I think you’re not human if you don’t feel that. You try and have a big-picture view, from a life standpoint, but, this is my livelihood, and this is our livelihood. So it matters to us. And when you’re not performing like you expect, that that sits with you a little bit.”
Before the game, Brain Cashman gave Boone and his staff reassurances that they are part of the solution. The GM said that they were all in this slump together and they would figure their way out of it as an organization.
Boone reiterated that he still believes this club can be a contender.
“I wholeheartedly believe that we have to stick with what we believe, what we believe in, especially with what we believe we have within this group, and what we believe this group is capable of,” Boone said. “That said, we’re at a point in the season where we’ve had enough of a sample here, to where we can no longer say it’s just a small sample. We’re essentially a one game over 500 team with over a third of the season gone.”
Last year, the Yankees dropped to .500 in this same minor league ballpark, the temporary home to the Blue Jays as they wait out Canada’s COVID-19 travel restrictions. But after bottoming out at 21-21, the Yankees went on a 10-game winning streak, which in the shortened 60-game season was able to make a huge difference.
Like last year, Cashman came with the team here, but he did not address the troops, threaten jobs or scream and yell. He was here to answer questions and offer reassurance.
“I think the urgency absolutely exists. Even though Cash doesn’t go on all trips, it’s very typical, especially when we’re in the Northeast playing within the division that there’s always a good chance that he’s here,” Boone said. “It’s always good to have him here and obviously, us as an organization right now we’re trying to unlock our team a little bit and we’re diving into everything possible to try and try and make that happen.”
The Yankees were able to get their bats on track last night.
The Yankees chased Hyun-Jin Ryu after six innings, getting three runs, including two homers, off him. And then rallied for three off the Blue Jays’ shaky bullpen.
