Mariano Rivera knows what’s ahead.
Even though he had to post a four-out save to finish off the White Sox last night in a 6-5 Yankees win at Yankee Stadium for a sweep of Chicago, he made it clear he is ready to pitch when needed in the monster four-game series that starts tonight against the Red Sox in The Bronx.
“Whatever it takes,’’ Rivera said, which sounds like a pretty good slogan for the Yankees and this battle with Boston. “It’s a big series.”
Yes it is — the biggest in The Bronx this season.
Whatever it takes to keep on winning.
Since Aug. 9, the Yankees are 18-8. Over that same span the Rays and Orioles have each won just 10 games. If that trend continues, the Yankees are a lock for the postseason, something that did not seem possible before Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup.
But sweeping the White Sox is nothing like playing those other Sox, and don’t forget the last time these teams met Ryan Dempster pulled a Dumpster move and nailed A-Rod, which woke up the sleeping giant Yankees.
The Yankees are 12-5 since Dempster hit A-Rod.
“It’s extremely important,’’ manager Joe Girardi said of the Red Sox battle. “It’s a tough series. They’re playing well. They are swinging the bats well. It’s been a team that we’ve been chasing pretty much the whole year. So obviously it’s extremely important to get to where we want we’re going to have to play really well.’’
When it was suggested to Alfonso Soriano that Dempster did the Yankees a favor hitting Rodriguez, Soriano smiled.
“Yes, yes,” he said. “We’re looking forward to playing the Red Sox. It should be a fun weekend. I hope we can win because that is the team we have to beat.
“We’re going to just keep having fun and keep bringing it because before we were not having a good time, but now that we are winning we are having fun. Winning makes you have fun. You can’t have any fun without winning.
Soriano said he believes there is no way these Yankees are going to go backward.
“With the lineup we have, we are very confident,’’ he said. “As long as we stay healthy we will keep playing the way we are playing. We are not trying to do too much as hitters. We trust one another. If they don’t give me a good pitch to hit hard, I will just do the best I can with what they give me because I know the guys behind me can get the job done.
“Before I was trying too hard,’’ Soriano admitted. “If it’s not me, it’s [Curtis] Granderson, [Robinson] Cano, Alex, a lot of good players here.’’
Girardi said this about the Yankees’ approach: “I think our guys understand how much fun it is to be in the playoffs and how rewarding it is, and how rewarding it is when you have to fight for it. I think they also understand you have to have that same personality every day. They’ve been through challenges before, knowing that they’ve had success and I think all those things help when you are trying to do what we are trying to do.’’
Soriano noted of the team’s success, “We’ve put everything together now with pitching, defense, offense and the bullpen and now we are having fun. Alex is having fun now because he doesn’t have to deal with the media, with the fans, he is just focused on playing baseball, so good for him.’’
In 37 games with the Yankees, Soriano owns 40 RBIs — he picked up another one last night — and has 12 home runs. Soriano has taken the heat off A-Rod. Rodriguez was dropped to sixth in the order last night and was on base his first two times up as Girardi was looking for lefty-righty balance.
The Yankees have 23 games remaining to make it to the postseason, but these next four games will be the biggest test. They must do whatever it takes against the Red Sox to keep winning.