If nothing else, the New York Yankees offense is deep, and it’s depth makes it daunting. Historically, they score runs at prolific rates, and that holds true early in 2020, scoring 5.2 runs per game through five games.
Since 2017, the first full season with the window of their current core open, they have been first or second in the league in runs scored every season. That includes leading MLB with 943 runs scored in 2019.
Although 2020 is a small sample, this version of the Yankees offense has shown a particular flare for the dramatic. Their resiliency has been on display early, specifically Thursday night against the Baltimore Orioles. Manager Aaron Boone addressed the media about his lineup and their late-inning comeback.
“Guys can hurt you up and down obviously, and that was the case tonight,” said Boone. “(We had) a couple of big at bats to finally get that big hit to break through…(I’m) proud of that, where the guys were able to stay locked in and really finish off a victory.”
Early Resiliency
There have been stretches within these games where the offense was anemic, but they have been able to flip the switch at the right time in order to salvage a game.
The resiliency of this 2020 Yankees lineup was evident as early as their last exhibition game, against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 20th. With the majority of their key contributors in the lineup facing Vince Velasquez, one of the Phillies top starters, the Yankees did not dominate offensively. They were able to tie the game in the ninth inning on a home run by Mike Ford to salvage a 2-2 tie. It was only an exhibition game, but that appeared to set the tone.
On July 26th, a similar situation unfolded in the rubber match against the Washington Nationals. Patrick Corbin shut them down throughout the afternoon, and they only had one hit heading into the seventh inning. Gleyber Torres was the spark plug that day. His home run chased Corbin, and he later drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single.
Thursday night was more of the same. They jumped out to a 5-0 lead early before the offense went dormant. After they lost that lead in the eighth inning, it was Aaron Judge‘s turn to stage the late-inning heroics. His go-ahead three-run home run, salvaged another Yankees victory.
It is a small sample, but there is a trend. The Yankees once again have a deep lineup, where anyone can inflict damage at any time. There will be stretches within games where the offense does not click. No matter the scenario or what happens prior in the game, the team finds a way to rally. Boone sees this in his players, and he feels they are never out of a game because of it.
Part of this can be attributed to the team’s mentality. After a road trip that Boone described as “2020ish,” due to their schedule being rearranged last minute after traveling to Philadelphia to not play any games, he is happy to watch his players’ state of mind shine through.
“Guys had to make some adjustments and adapt on the fly,” said Boone. “I feel like our guys have a great frame of mind moving forward.”
There is a lot of uncertainty with the MLB season moving forward, but it is clear that so long as the Yankees have outs left, they know their offense can find life.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
