The Yankees Swept Their Doubleheader With the Red Sox And Leapfrogged Them In The Standings In The Blink of an Eye

Adam Hunger. Getty Images.

Well, well, well, how the turns tables. 23 days…. in 23 days the Yankees have made up 9 games on the Boston Red Sox and leap frogged them in the standings. The Yankees have gone 17-5 in that span while Boston has fallen back to Earth going 8-14. Since the 2nd half of the season has begun the Yankees have turned it up to another level. With the help of newly acquired Italian Stallions Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo the boys have re-announced their presence in the American League. 

Those acquisitions are nice, but this team has needed the help of some true unsung heroes along the way. Covid has ravaged this clubhouse leaving guys like Gerrit Cole, Rizzo, Montgomery, Gary Sanchez and more absent from the field. The injury bug has also sidelined main stays like Gio Urshela and Gleyber as well. In the mean time you've seen the likes of Nestor Cortes Jr, Luis Gil, Wandy Peralta, Stephen Ridings, Andrew Velazquez, Tyler Wade, Brett Gardner, and others step up when this team needed it most. To make up this much ground in that little time with how short handed they were? Remarkable. 

On Tuesday the Yankees swept the Boston Red Sox in their split double header at the stadium. They did it with some very clutch hitting and pitching. It seems everyday the Yankees have found themselves in close games where fans like myself are clinging to dear life until the final out. Seriously, I don't eat heathy enough to get through these endings. 

In the first game today the Yankees rallied in the 5th behind a clutch bloop single by Luke Voit in the 5th. Voit has been a forgotten man this season with his constant injuries and the recent acquisition of Rizzo, but he clearly still belongs in this lineup in some capacity. This hit was MASSIVE. Finally the boys are finding holes. 

Johnny Loaisiga came in for a 6 out save, getting the heart of the Sox lineup retired in order in the 6th. The 7th was far from that easy, as he loaded the bases with no one out. It's impossible to have an easy end to a game with this club. Well fortunately, a line out to left, a strikeout to Kiké, and this 100 mph fuck you fastball to Renfroe sealed the deal for Game 1. Exhale 

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Game 2 was tight the whole way as well. Luis Gil started for the Yankees, entering his 3rd ever big league start without having allowed a run. Despite having dealt with massive control issues in the minors, Gil has shined so far in the majors. The poise this son of a bitch has shown on the mound is remarkable. After Tuesday's outing Gil is up to 15.2 innings of scoreless baseball to start his career. He's the first pitcher since 1900 to have 18+ strikeouts and allow zero runs in his first 3 career games. Decent…

Gil went 4.2 IP of shutout baseball, but with Loaisiga going 2 innings in Game 1 that meant we were in for a doozy to get the final 7 outs. Wandy Peralta entered in the 5th with the bases juiced and Devers up but was able to get him to ground out to end the inning. 

The real drama came the inning later with 1st and 3rd and 2 outs for Dalbec. The righty drilled a liner up the middle that deflected off Wandy, forcing him to make an incredible play to end the inning. 

Chad Green worked a bizarre, unexpected 1-2-3 final inning to end the game. The Yankees swept Tuesday's doubleheader with the Red Sox. With Oakland's loss to the White Sox, the Yankees have jumped up to the number 1 WC spot in the AL. What a crazy few weeks it's been with an insane month and a half to go. Job's not done, there's a whole lotta time to make a run at the division. We're in for a helluva finish in the American League. Now we go. Andrew Heaney starts tomorrow. Probably a loss, but that's why Tuesday's sweep was so, so massive. 

P.S. Just remember, steroid boy said the Yankees season was over in July. 

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P.P.S. I love this mentality from Luke Voit. Yes he's been fucked by injuries this year but he's finally healthy and contributing.  

Boone needs to find a spot for him in this lineup. The answer is Stanton in the OF, Luke at DH, Rizzo at first, Gallo or Judge in CF. Has to happen, that's your best lineup and my god is it terrifying to deal with.