Yankees, Aaron Judge rally as Shane McClanahan blows 6-0 lead in mirror image game

Remember a few weeks back when it felt like the Yankees were so relentlessly dedicated to being .500 that they had to counteract every positive moment with an equal and opposite negative reaction?

Clay Holmes escapes a bases-loaded jam against the Guardians? Sure. A few weeks later, Clay Holmes will blow a cinch save against the Guardians. Everything done had been undone. The Yankees were treading water while simultaneously taking on a lot of it.

Allow us to introduce you, though, to the moment things might've changed. On Friday night, Michael King was punched in the mouth by Josh Lowe, turning a 4-2 lead he'd been handed into a 5-4 deficit in the blink of a frustrated eye. But then a funny thing happened: Anthony Rizzo punched back. Wandy Peralta closed the door. The Yankees stole victory from the jaws of brutal defeat against the first place Rays.

Then, on Saturday, things "evened out" again for this team in a much more pleasant manner than they typically have been.

Down 6-0 in the fifth, after Nestor Cortes' third straight rough outing, one Yankees beat writer tweeted ominously about the team's chances against Sugar Shane McClanahan.

Yankees turn Shane McClanahan into Gerrit Cole with 6-0 rally

Somehow, some way, the Yankees not only struck back against Tampa's ace (the Rays had won every McClanahan start this season entering Saturday's action), but they did so immediately.

Four batters later, it was 6-4. The 6-0 lead had swiftly eroded. The game was back in play. Remind you of anything? This happened to Gerrit Cole less than a week ago.

But it got even more satisfying. Anthony Volpe stole a run all by his lonesome, with a drag bunt, two stolen bases, and an effective wild pitch. Then, with two outs and a runner on first, Aaron Judge drilled his second home run of the game, grabbing a lead the Yankees would not relinquish.

In last Sunday's game, the Yankees actually rallied back after the Rays humbled Cole and tied the game before failing with RISP repeatedly into extra innings.

This time, Oswaldo Cabrera's insurance single made sure that wouldn't happen.

Clay Holmes danced out of Ron Marinaccio's trouble without the game being evened up, Peralta again showed he's made of actual steel, and the Yankees won this baseball game.

The Rays seem to be quite good. On that issue, there can be no debate.

But as the Yankees' offense begins to look a bit more whole, let it be noted that in just the past week of action, the Bombers have:

* Won a game at Tropicana Field that they trailed 2-0 in the eighth inning
* Won a game they trailed 5-4 (suddenly) in the bottom of the eighth against Jason Adam
* Won a game they trailed 6-0 with an ace who doesn't lose on the rubber for the other guys

And last Friday, just outside the one-week window, Harrison Bader led the charge and erased a 4-0 deficit in Tampa before Jake Bauers dropped a fly ball.

The Yankees aren't out of the woods yet. Nestor Cortes is still a concern. But there's at least a chance that we're able to look back on the Yankees who didn't fight, the limping Yankees, the outgunned Yankees as the old Yankees by the end of this season.