Yankees: Well, what do you know, the Bombers are back

The Yankees couldn’t have looked more disillusioned than they did on Wednesday, dropping a twin bill to the Indians with the Red Sox looming in the background. But what a difference four days can make.

The Yankees made a definitive statement last night, not only dumping the Red Sox 9-2 but also by crushing Chris Sale with three home runs, chasing him from the game before he could finish the fifth inning. It’s been more than a year since Sale gave up three home in a single game (July 8, 2016).

Chase Headley, the player Joe Girardi can’t find a seat on the bench for, opened the power show with a blast in the third inning to begin the scoring in the game. Then came two more home runs, this time back-to-back shots in the fourth inning from Todd Frazier and Matt Holliday, whose bat has been sorely missed, putting the Yankees up three-zip. And from there, they never looked back.

And if Yankees fans still needed a boost, Aaron Judge supplied it with a two-run shot, his first home run since the Yankees swept the ages ago.

The win moved the Yankees to within 3.5 games of the Sox for first place and widened their lead to two games over the Minnesota Twins, who lost to the Royals, in the chase for the top Wild Card spot in the American League.

While the feeble bats have been the story behind the story of the Yankees of late, the dominating start delivered by Luis Severino brings home the real feature of the Yankees season to date. Economizing 87 pitches over six innings, Severino allowed only two hits and one run, while striking out nine and making it look easy.

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The win puts Severino’s numbers for the season at 12-6 with an ERA moving in the direction of being under three (3.03), which in the American League is almost unheard of.

In a good way, Chase Headley has been a thorn in the side of Joe Girardi for more than a month now. Over his last 41 games, Headley is hitting .338, with seven homers and 17 RBI, worming his way into the lineup despite the logjam at first and third base between himself, Greg Bird and Frazier.

Yankees get no rest from the schedule

There’s no rest for the weary, though, and time, together with another game today rolls on. The Yankees were expected to arrive at their hotel in Baltimore at 4 AM this morning, collect their bodies and thoughts, and be ready to take on the Orioles in a traditional Labor Day of afternoon baseball.

The Orioles were either pushed by MLB or were kind enough to reschedule the game for a 2:05 PM start, giving the Yankees an extra hour of recovery time.

Hallelujah, Garcia is history

In a move most welcomed by this writer and possibly other fans of the Yankees, Girardi has decided to skip the scheduled start by Jaime Garcia today, relegating him to the bullpen. Jordan Montgomery will take Garcia’s turn in the rotation today, and hopefully, forever.

The Orioles remain the wild card in the Wild Card race. They have a starting staff, which once you get by Dylan Bundy, who squares off against them today, resembles a Triple-A menagerie of inconsistency and ineffectiveness. Still, Buck Showalter has them playing spirited baseball, backed by the presence of seven players who have or are, projecting to hit twenty or more home runs this season.

Following the three games with Baltimore, the Yankees stay on the road visiting Texas and Tampa Bay before they return home to face these same Orioles again at Yankee Stadium.

Next: Yankees fate rests in their own hands

It’s what they call pennant baseball, and we can feel fortunate our team is in it to win it.

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