Yankees Complete Sweep of Phillies, Stretch Winning Streak to Five

Of all the things that could have happened to the Yankees in Philadelphia, sweeping the Phillies was the absolute last thing I expected. Count me as stunned when Wednesday’s game ended and Clay Holmes - though he tried hard again to blow it - somehow survived and the team that spent six weeks playing so terribly stretched its winning streak to five games. Has the corner been turned?  Let’s get to it.

July 31: Yankees 6, Phillies 5

I was walking my dog Mickey when the bottom of the ninth began. Odd timing you say? Nope. I couldn’t bear to watch Clay Holmes trying to save another game with just a one-run lead, so I grabbed the leash, turned on the MLB app and sweated through a couple thousand steps listening to the end of the game.

Naturally, the first thing I said when Holmes allowed a leadoff single to Kyle Schwarber was, “God damnit, here we go again.” And then I held my breath listening to the play-by-play as Austin Hays’ fly ball to left came oh so close to walking it off for the Phillies. Man, that was scary.

So that brought up Bryce Harper, and if ever a slumping superstar was due to come through, it was Harper as he had gone hitless in the series, failing in several critical spots in all three games. When he bounced a tailor-made double play grounder to Gleyber Torres at second, I held my breath again because, you know, Gleyber being Gleyber, but then I punched the air in joy when I heard that Torres and Anthony Volpe turned the twin-killing to end the game.

Jesus, there’s never a dull moment with this team, especially with Holmes in the closer role. What a win, and what a series for the heretofore incompetent Yankees. They limped onto the road last week in dire straits, looking like a dead team walking after getting their asses kicked at home by the Mets, then suffered a horrible loss on the first night in Boston.

Since then, I don’t know what has gotten into them - maybe the law of averages finally reversing course - but outside of the usual follies with the bullpen, they’ve played very well during this winning streak, particularly the offense which has come alive.

“We’re playing well, we know we’re good,” Aaron Boone said after his team dealt the Phillies their first homefield sweep in a series of at least three games since July 22-24, 2022. “When we play well, we can beat anyone. But the past is the past and the reality is we’ve got two months of baseball to hopefully put us in position to play for something meaningful in October. You keep the blinders on and keep going. But definitely when you win a day game on a getaway day to get a sweep against a club like that into an off day, that’s one of those good feelings in a baseball season.”

Here are my observations:

➤ As if sweeping the Phillies wasn’t stunning enough, the man of the match Wednesday was perhaps even more stunning. DJ LeMahieu, who with no hyperbole intended here has been one of the worst hitters in all of MLB, exploded for the first six-RBI game of his fine career. He hit a grand slam in the second inning off Phillies starter Christopher Sanchez, then ripped a two-run double in the sixth to deliver all of the Yankees runs.

➤ LeMahieu has been replaced at third base by Jazz Chisholm and will now be used mostly as a platoon first baseman along with Ben Rice, and as a late-inning defensive replacement on the days when Rice starts at first base. The 36-year-old had just 13 RBI in his first 47 games, so this display of power was quite a surprise.

➤ “It’s been a tough go for me, but today felt good,” LeMahieu said. “My teammates have my back in supporting me. To come through and see how excited they are, it’s a good feeling for sure.” This performance raised his average to .182 and his OPS to .522, still pathetic, but hey, let’s give him his props because he led the way on a day when Aaron Judge struck out in all four of his plate appearances.

➤ LeMahieu wasn’t the only guy enjoying a little redemption. For the past several days leading to the trade deadline, Nestor Cortes was on the block and it was right down to the wire on a trade with the Tigers for Jack Flaherty that would have sent Cortes to Detroit. It didn’t happen, so Cortes took the mound relieved to still be a Yankee, and apparently hellbent on proving that he belongs. He pitched 5.1 innings and gave up three runs on just three hits and two walks while striking out six. Cortes has been terrible on the road this season, but he came through in a big spot.

➤ “It was all speculation,” Cortes said. “My name being thrown around, I feel like there was nothing concrete about it. I was just ready to make my start today, and that’s what I worked for. Hopefully, I can put up a string of good starts going forward.”

➤ The Yankees handed him a 4-0 lead in the second inning as Giancarlo Stanton and Chisholm singled, and after Alex Verdugo walked to load the bases, LeMahieu drove a ball that just cleared the wall in left-center, only his second homer of the year.

➤ The Phillies inched with 4-3 with two in the third and then one in the fourth on a home run by Weston Wilson, but in the sixth, with two outs Volpe and Verdugo singled, and LeMahieu chased them both home with a double to right-center.

➤ Luke Weaver’s recent inconsistency continued. After a 1-2-3 inning on Tuesday, he relieved Cortes in the sixth and immediately gave up a triple to Alec Bohm who then scored on a ground ball by Nick Castellanos. And in the eighth against Mark Leiter, the Phillies got within 6-5 as Bohm doubled and scored on a single by Castellanos. Leiter worked himself into more trouble allowing a single and hitting a batter to load the bases, but he whiffed Brandon Marsh to preserve the lead and Holmes was able to save it.

➤ Harper is one of the best players in MLB, but the Yankees caught him at the right time. He is in a 1-for-30 slump, which is the worst of his career and the worst by a Phillies hitter since Rhys Hoskins’ 1-for-36 skid in June 2021. “I thought it was way worse,” Harper said.

After an off day Thursday, the Yankees return to the Bronx Friday where they need to start playing a whole lot better. They have a tremendous road record of 38-22 which is the best in MLB, but at Yankee Stadium they’ve been average at best, a record of 27-23. That’s right, in posting a 65-45 record to date, they’ve played 10 more road games so they have an opportunity coming up to play at home and they need to be better.

As expected, the Orioles have started to get it together as they just finished winning three of four against the Blue Jays to remain a half-game ahead of the Yankees. They now have a tough four-game series in Cleveland against the Guardians who, at 65-42, down the best record in the American League.

Toronto will come to town, also after enjoying a day off, sitting in last place in the AL East at 50-59 and having just sold off parts including pitchers Yusei Kikuchi (a good thing for the Yankees), and Trevor Richards, plus position players Justin Turner, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Kevin Kiermaier.

They’ve punted on the season, but that doesn’t mean the Yankees can take them lightly because they still have Vlad Guerrero Jr. who loves nothing more than to torment the Yankees, and George Springer, though Bo Bichette is on the injured list.

The pitching matchups are as follows: Friday at 7:05 on YES it’s Marcus Stroman (3.64 ERA) against Kevin Gausman (4.44); Saturday at 1:05 on YES it’s Carlos Rodon (4.34) against Jose Berrios (3.39); and Sunday at 1:35 on YES it’s probably Gerrit Cole (5.40) against Yariel Rodriguez (4.31).