CHICAGO _ Give us length and help us change a losing narrative.
Establish that signature fastball and remind us you're a reliable rotation option down the stretch, into October.
That's all a bruised and weary organization asked of Lynn, in his first Yankees start, on the heels of a brutal weekend in New England.
And the right-hander delivered big-time on Monday night, guiding the Yankees to a fog-clearing, 7-0 win against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Park.
Taking the rotation spot of the inconsistent Sonny Gray, Lynn twirled 7 2/3 shutout innings and yielded just two hits and a walk. He had nine strikeouts.
At one point, Lynn retired 19 straight batters, helping the Yankees (69-42) snap a season-high five-game losing streak.
Before a subdued crowd of 22,084, the Yankees didn't begin to make a dent off Chicago right-hander Dylan Covey (4-8) until the fourth, by which time Lynn found his groove against the rebuilding White Sox (41-71).
Acquired from the Twins at last week's trade deadline, Lynn (8-8) has now tossed 12 scoreless innings as a Yankee _ including a 4 1/3-inning relief stint for Gray.
Lynn was assumed to be rested and ready on Monday, or at least fresher than his weary teammates.
He wasn't party to Sunday night's lengthy and heartbreaking Yankees loss at Fenway Park, having flown ahead for his start _ just his second Yankee appearance.
So, Lynn didn't have to endure the 5 a.m. Central arrival, or the quiet awkwardness after the Red Sox completed a four-game sweep _ taking full command of the AL East.
Now, the Yanks trail the idle Red Sox by nine games in a division that might already have been settled.
"But I always feel like we're a day away from starting to turn that around," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the game of his club's recent slide. "And I believe that day is today.
"I walk into that room every day with that confidence, that optimism," Boone said. "Because of the people we're able to roll out there every day. And nothing's changed in that regard."
Things didn't begin ideally Monday for the Yankees, as Covey retired the first 10 batters he faced.
And the Yanks' chance for a really damaging fourth inning was turned away by Sox center fielder Adam Engel, who timed his warning-track leap to rob Greg Bird of a three-run homer.
Engel's glove extended over the padded wall and he pulled back a drive that would have given the Yankees a 5-0 lead.
Still, the Yanks were glad to build a lead on a Giancarlo Stanton one-out walk, followed by a double off the center-field wall by Didi Gregorius and RBI singles from Aaron Hicks and Gleyber Torres.
In the fifth, one-out singles by catcher Kyle Higashioka and Brett Gardner led to another two-run rally.
Higashioka scored on a wild pitch, Gardner scored on a Gregorius single and Lynn guarded that lead all through his 108-pitch effort.
In the eighth, rookie Gleyber Torres added his 18th homer of the year and Neil Walker's fourth, a two-run shot.
That helped to ensure Monday was a drama-less affair, with the echoes of Fenway Park's shrieks and derisive chants still ringing in Yankee ears.
But this club has continued to reflect its manager's unchangeable approach.
"Their focus is good, they're able to turn the page, they're able to let things roll off them," Boone had said a day earlier, before that devastating, 10-innin loss. "So, I have no issue.
"I think we're prepared to go out there, and I think each guy is in a pretty good place considering we're in a tough stretch right now."
And during these rough times, Boone believes that his daily disposition is important, too.
"I hope they look at me as emotionally stable," Boone said, never wanting to project any anxiety "that comes to them through me.
"It's really important with how consistent I am," Boone said of his daily interactions with players. "Philosophically, it's something that's very important to me."
