CHICAGO — The Yankees are not alone.
That is a source of both consolation and consternation.
Since holding the majors’ best record on June 14 at 50-22, the Yankees have gone 30-38. But during that span, the Orioles have only gone 36-36, meaning the Yankees have only lost four games in the AL East standings — going from 3 ½ games up to a half-game behind.
So while the Yankees remain right in the thick of things, they have also missed a golden chance to separate themselves, now needing to put together a strong run over their final 22 games to have any hope of winning the division.
But as the calendar flipped from August to September, the Yankees were still not playing their best baseball, having lost six of their last eight games entering Friday’s showdown against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
“We know what’s in front of us and we gotta go take it,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees flew out of Texas late Wednesday night. “Nobody’s going to give it to us, nobody’s going to feel sorry for us.
“I’m sure a lot of people out there are rooting against us. We gotta have that us-against-the-world [mentality]. Go take this thing, go take this division, go take this playoff opportunity. It’s all there for us, we gotta do it.”
The Yankees played well enough over the first two and a half months of the season to give themselves some cushion when they inevitably cooled off.
And while they picked themselves up from their summer swoon by the end of July, they have not exactly taken off since then and are running out of time to do so.
The Yankees will try to get back on track Friday with the return of Luis Gil, who was activated off the injured list Thursday after missing just the minimum 15 days with a lower back strain.
Clarke Schmidt will make his own return from the IL on Saturday as the Yankees get closer to full strength, though some concerns remain — namely the back end of the bullpen, with the club set to go closer by matchup for the time being, along with some inconsistent starting pitching and a lack of consistent production in left field from Alex Verdugo.
“We trust each other here,” Verdugo said. “We know how good of a team we are. We know what we can do when we’re all clicking and doing the things we need to do. Really, there’s no reason to panic. We’ve been in this tight AL race all year long. Couple series, we’re right there. We’re going to go to Chicago, handle business over there, right the ship and just take it day by day.”
Easier said than done.
Friday’s series opener at Wrigley Field — the Yankees’ first visit there since 2017 — marks the beginning of a 10-day, 10-game stretch against the Cubs, Royals and Red Sox.
They will then head west for a road trip against the Mariners and A’s before coming home to face the Orioles — with the division potentially on the line — and Pirates.
The weight of each game will be heavier the closer the Yankees get to October, but their captain is not taking that approach.
“Each game means as much as it did March 28,” Aaron Judge said. “It’s all the same. Just because we have 22 left doesn’t mean anything to us. It’s about what we do this next game. Give it our all this next game and keep moving forward.”
If this all feels familiar, it is because the Yankees went through a similar arc in 2022. Their high-water mark that year came at 61-23 on July 8. From that point on, they went 38-48, which was still enough to win the AL East at 99-63.
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This time around, the Orioles are a bigger threat than the Blue Jays were in 2022. But they, too, have struggled to pull away, giving the Yankees a chance to still control their own destiny.
“We’ve put ourselves in position to go grab this thing,” Boone said. “But if we want to grab it, we gotta play our best ball, put our best foot forward here with 22 to go. This team right now, that’s all that matters. We gotta get it.”
To make room for Gil being activated, the Yankees optioned Scott Effross to Triple-A. The reliever had come up Sept. 1 and made two appearances — his first two since undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2022 and back surgery last December — but evidently the Yankees feel he needs more time in the minors to re-establish himself.
