TORONTO — After all the injuries and 150 games, the Yankees still have a chance to be part of October.
No matter how you view it — slim is better than none — the chance has a pulse.
The biggest reason is the Rays and Rangers, the leading AL wild-card clubs going into Monday night’s action, have been so bad the Yankees dropped three straight to the sizzling Red Sox this past weekend and didn’t get buried.
Tampa Bay and Texas were tied at 81-67 before opening a four-game series in St. Petersburg on Monday night. Cleveland was third, a half-game back; Baltimore fourth, 2 ½ lengths behind; and then the Yankees sitting three back.
“We have 12 games left and we have to play 100 percent,’’ said left fielder Alfonso Soriano, who has been nursing a sprained right thumb since Thursday and sat out Saturday’s game in Fenway Park. “We still have a chance.’’
Starting Tuesday night at Rogers Centre against the morbid Blue Jays, nine of the remaining 12 Yankee games are against two last-place clubs (at Toronto and at Houston) and another (San Francisco at home) that is one game above the basement. Inserted after the Giants and before a season-ending trip to Houston are three with the Rays at Yankee Stadium.
“We have a chance to turn it around on Tuesday and like I have said, these guys have gotten up off the carpet many times,’’ explained Joe Girardi, who bluntly said his club stunk while losing three games to the Red Sox. “We are going to have to do it again if we want to play in October.’’
Though the Yankees’ schedule is favorable, there are danger signs, too. Not the least of them is Cleveland’s slate, which includes 10 games against the Astros, White Sox and Twins.
Across the past five games, Yankee starters are 0-3 with a 6.32 ERA and have given up 41 hits, 13 walks and hit two batters. That’s an alarming 56 baserunners in 31 ¹/₃ innings.
Of the group, tonight’s starter Andy Pettitte, delivered the best effort when he gave up three runs and nine hits in 6 ¹/₃ innings against the Orioles in Baltimore last week.
In Boston, Hiroki Kuroda, CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova pitched ineffectively and got beat.
Phil Hughes, who was replaced by David Huff for one start, follows Pettitte, and Kuroda starts Thursday. Girardi’s leash on Hughes on Thursday night in Baltimore lasted three-plus innings.
Then there is the lineup that scored seven runs and batted .170 (16-for-94) overall and .150 (3-for-20) with runners in scoring position in three games against the Red Sox.
And the injuries have returned. Derek Jeter (left ankle) is done. Brett Gardner (strained left oblique) is likely finished for the regular season. Soriano played Sunday but is battling a bad thumb. Alex Rodriguez, who was slowed to a crawl by a left hamstring injury and relegated to DH duty, strained the right calf and left Sunday night’s game. Who knows if he will play Tuesday night.
Ichiro Suzuki is apparently free of injury, but his bat has been sick and his defense Sunday night was poor. He is in a 2-for-18 (.111) rut and those two hits came in Suzuki’s final two at-bats in Sunday night’s blowout loss.
“We have to keep playing hard and give everything we got,’’ Robinson Cano said. “We get a good start Tuesday and we still face Tampa.’’
There is no denying the Yankees have a chance. But regardless of who is playing who and the schedule-maker delivering the Blue Jays, Giants and Astros to the Yankees’ door at a very good time, pitching and hitting decide these things.
And going into Tuesday night’s game against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, those two areas had to be viewed as chance-killers.