NEW YORK - The Yankees have spent years wearing the Bronx Bombers label, but this October run is looking a lot less like a home-run derby and a lot more like a team that can beat you every which way.
That was the message again Wednesday night, when New York finished off a sweep of the Red Sox with a 9-2 win and kept showing the kind of offensive versatility that can turn a postseason series. The six-run sixth inning told the whole story: hustle, small ball, pressure on the defense, and a lineup that keeps the line moving even when the big swing is not the main event.
It started with Spencer Jones striking out swinging on a Garrett Crochet sweeper, but Jones never stopped running. He saw the pitch get away from catcher Adley Rutschman and busted down the line.
He was initially ruled out, then the Yankees challenged and the call was overturned after replay showed first baseman Willson Contreras waiting back on Rutschman’s throw instead of taking the front-right side of the bag. Rutschman also failed to smother the pitch in the dirt with his chest protector, and the inning changed from there.
Jones kept the pressure on immediately. Three pitches later, he stole second and advanced to third when Rutschman’s throw got away.
The Yankees added three more stolen bases in the next inning, including a double steal, underscoring just how much speed is part of what they do. New York finished the regular season with the sixth-most steals in the league, just 11 behind Tampa Bay.
From there, the Yankees kept layering on the damage. Jones’ chaos helped set up George Lombard Jr.’s RBI single, a two-strike line drive to right.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with another two-strike single, then Trent Grisham laid down a sacrifice bunt that hugged the third-base line and beat a weak throw from Caleb Durbin. It was the kind of play that asks the defense to be perfect and then punishes them when they aren’t.
Austin Wells, after a pitching change, added a sacrifice fly to deep left even after falling behind 0-2 to Garrett Whitlock. Ryan McMahon then chipped in with an RBI groundout to the left side.
His ball was a slow roller, just 43.8 mph off the bat, but the key was simple: he put it in play in a two-strike count and kept the inning alive. By then, the Yankees were up 5-1.
Boston then chose to intentionally walk Ben Rice, who had already delivered a historic four-hit, two-homer, six-RBI performance in Tuesday night’s opener. That set up Cody Bellinger, and he made the Red Sox pay. Bellinger jumped on a 1-0 changeup from Whitlock at the bottom of the zone and drove a three-run homer into the short porch.
That was the punch that put the game out of reach, but it also fit the larger picture of this Yankees offense. On a night when they collected 14 hits, 12 of them were singles.
Luis Garcia Jr. also homered. The power is there, but so is the depth, and that combination is making this lineup tough to navigate.
It has been the same story with the pitching. Cam Schlittler and Max Fried held Boston to one run over 12 1/3 innings across the two wins, giving the Yankees the kind of foundation that can carry them deeper if the bats keep matching it.
“One through nine is dangerous,” Schlittler said in the Yankees’ clubhouse after the win. “The pitching staff has been amazing this year.
Bullpen has been great. I have a lot of confidence in our guys.
If we continue to play baseball like we have these last two games, we can beat anyone.”
Aaron Boone saw the same thing, especially in that sixth inning.
“I thought we did a lot of good things offensively,” Boone said, “whether it was obviously a couple big long balls, Spencer legs out a strikeout to start the big inning, the stolen base comes into play, we put some balls in play, a couple of really well-executed bunt situations. I told those guys, we play like that, we have a chance to beat anybody.”
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