Ryan McMahon emphatically proved his worth again in Yankees' wildest win of season

Ryan McMahon has played in five games for the New York Yankees after being acquired in a much-maligned deal on Friday afternoon. The Yankees have won three of those games. It can be argued that he was directly responsible for securing all three of those victories. While the jury remains out long-term on McMahon's ability to move the needle, it's tough to make a more emphatic early argument.

In Sunday's win over the Phillies, McMahon's two-run double was the difference in a 4-3 victory. In Tuesday's victory over the Rays, McMahon slickly fielded two nubbers in the ninth inning; with a butcher at third, Devin Williams might've blown a save one day earlier than he actually did.

And, on Wednesday, McMahon made a lunging catch of a liner to help Tim Hill keep Jose Caballero The Ghost Runner from scoring in the top of the 11th, then stomped all over a high fastball to dead center to end the game in the bottom half.

Every other inning, from the eighth through the 10th, featured Kingda Ka-level ups and downs for the Yankees, but the 11th? The 11th was perfect. And it was McMahon taking center stage as a stabilizing force. Again.

Yankees' Ryan McMahon walks off the game of the year vs. Tampa Bay Rays

This game was powered by many heroes, with McMahon fittingly getting the final say as the trade deadline clock ticked down on Brian Cashman's next moves. If the bullpen pieces he chooses are anything like McMahon, the Yankees might have a higher ceiling than we've all been thinking after all.

And those bullpen pieces had also better be local, because a gassed Williams turned a stolen 2-1 lead into a 3-2 deficit, before Anthony Volpe homered with one out against Pete Fairbanks to tie it, before Austin Wells wandered off second base after a one-out bunt by a power hitter, before Luke Weaver fought valiantly before surrendering a deep drive to left, before Jasson Dominguez leapt at the wall and reduced three theoretical runs into one actual one, before Cody Bellinger sped into third, and before Giancarlo Stanton left him hanging by taking mighty hacks at Balls 3, 4 and 5. But that's all that happened, really. Uneventful, for the most part.

Now, Cashman gets back to work with no time to rest on his laurels. He's got to stay on the balls of his feet like McMahon, freed from Colorado and looking ever-ready on a team that too often looked stale and resigned before he arrived.

Is this a championship team? Is it a playoff team? Can the roster handle more nights like Wednesday? The more players who fit the mold ... who do their jobs ... hell, who celebrate outside the dugout like Amed Rosario, treating his third game in pinstripes like he's been here all year, the better chance they'll have.