Yankees roll out the welcome matt for Holliday, who delivers

The Yankees miss some players more than others when they are absent from the clubhouse. When a lifetime .300 hitter disappears from your lineup for an extended time, that’s one thing. But when he’s also the go-to guy in the clubhouse, that’s quite another. No more, a leader is back.

When Yankees designated hitter, Matt Holliday walked into the clubhouse for the first time in way too long, Aaron Judge was there to greet him with a big bear hug. The hug was heartfelt because Judge has made no secret about the impact Holliday has had on him this season.

And the contact between them didn’t end when Holliday went down with a virus leading to a two-month absence from the team. Much like the man he is, Holliday was on call, though, for Judge throughout his prolonged slump since the All Star break. I say on call because Holliday is not the pushy type rah-rah leader who’s in your face all the time. You ask him for advice, and he’ll provide it.

One day at a time. One game at a time. And as always, the words of Satchel Paige ring true. Don’t look back because someone might be gaining on you

Today, Holliday pushed his talent to another level when he delivered a three run jolt to the Red Sox and Drew Pomerantz en route to a 4-1 victory, which brings them back to four games behind the Division leaders.

Four runs are nothing to write home about, but when they come with a timely stroke like the one Holliday delivered, the message goes to the other team, we got this one.

Masahiro Tanaka kept the line moving, providing another solid seven innings from the Yankees rotation, a streak that was marred only by the doubleheader disaster against the Indians when Jaime Garcia and Jordan Montgomery failed to take it to the limits.

Needing only 97 pitches, Tanaka surrendered only five hits and two walks. Letting his defense work for him, Tanaka struck out only three.

And just a few hours following last night’s loss, and proclamations from this writer and others that the Yankees are up, down, and all around and just can’t seem to get it going; the team bounces back with a near perfectly played game.

Last night or today, which team is real

But hold on because today’s game is only a beginning and it remains to be seen if today, or last night, is the omen of the future for the Yankees.

Not to worry, though, as the Yankees will counter with the equally dominant, Luis Severino, in what shapes up as the pitching matchup of the year for both teams is the one the Yankees need. And it’s not only for the two-game swing in the standings that will come about but also as a confidence builder that tells them we can beat this guy.

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I’ve said it once, and I’ll repeat it, the Yankees when you consider their rotation a whole, minus Garcia who won’t be needed in the playoffs anyway, have the best rotation in the American League.

As we know, though, the only ingredient missing of late has been the bats. They’re here today and gone tomorrow. The team knows they can’t have that, and eventually, Aaron Judge is going to find his stroke again, and together with Holliday if he stays physically healthy, and Gary Sanchez, if he stays mentally healthy, the team is going to put some crooked numbers on the board.

Will it be enough? I don’t have the foggiest guess. There are an ungodly seven teams behind the Yankees who are running on fumes but continue to win. The Orioles will have eight players with twenty or more home runs in their lineup with no pitching, yet Buck Showalter still has them winning.

The Twins went into sell-off mode at the trade deadline sending (thank you not so much), for instance, Jaime Garcia to the Yankees only a week after acquiring him from the Braves. Their players said blank you to ownership, and here they are breathing down the neck of the Yankees.

One day at a time. One game at a time. And as always, the words of Satchel Paige ring true. Don’t look back because someone might be gaining on you.

Next: Would you trade Aaron Judge even up Giancarlo Stanton

First up, though, is making the sale on Sale tomorrow night.

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