Derek Jeter’s long-awaited return to the Yankees lineup drew all the attention. Ichiro Suzuki’s inspired play, meanwhile, yet again propelled the Yankees to victory.
Ichiro continued to produce at the top of the Yankees’ lineup and made the catch of the day — arguably his finest of the season — as the Yankees won their second straight, 8-4, over the Royals at the Stadium yesterday.
Ichiro’s acrobatic catch of Alex Gordon’s rocket to the wall in dead center field was of the Willie Mays variety — running at full speed with his back to the plate, looking up for the ball at the last second and hauling in the basket catch over his shoulder.
“I feel like those are plays I can make,” the 10-time All-Star said through a translator of his sixth-inning grab. “I know I can get to those [balls], and I do.”
Making the play even harder, Ichiro said he lost the ball in the sun at the last second.
“I thought I could get to it, but in the end the sun got in my view. I stuck my glove out and the ball went in,” he said. “You could say that was the best play I made all year.”
The play, which came with a runner on first and one out in the sixth, was important because it protected a 7-4 lead, preventing the Royals from scoring a run and possibly putting together a rally against Andy Pettitte.
“That was big,” the veteran southpaw said.
PHOTOS: JETER RETURNS TO YANKEES LINEUP
The highlight-reel catch also illustrated the veteran outfielder’s value to the Yankees. Ichiro hasn’t played much center field this year, getting just seven starts there as a suitable replacement for Brett Gardner, who was given the day off after he was hit in the right ankle with a pitch in Wednesday night’s win. But Ichiro enjoys being out there.
“It is definitely fun,” he said. “You have a lot of ground to cover and you get to run around a lot and get to some balls.”
His bat has also come alive recently. He is hitting .333 in July, and has hit safely in 10 of his past 11 games. He scored once, stole a base and drove in a run in yesterday’s victory, defying the critics who said he would slow down at the age of 39. He has gotten more productive as the year has gone on, producing better numbers in July than in June and in June than in May.
“Age is something that shouldn’t come into play,” said Ichiro, who is hitting .278 overall with 13 stolen bases and 33 runs scored. “You can’t judge somebody by their age. There are guys in their 20s who play like they’re in their 30s.”
Ichiro, on the other hand, is playing like he still is in his 20s.
zbraziller@nypost.com