BOSTON — You never know what a baseball season is going to spring on you.
That’s the beauty of this game.
This season, the Yankees are learning that Brett Gardner is their MVP.
Gardner blasted his 15th home run of the season in the sixth inning, the winning run in a wild 8-7 victory over the pitching-poor Red Sox Sunday night at Fenway Park. His career high was eight, set last season. Gardner, 30, has added a whole new dimension to his game.
It was his fifth home run in the six-game trip, going 11-for-23 (.478) with seven RBIs. He had three hits and three RBIs on the night and now has the most home runs by a leadoff hitter in the majors and the second-most RBIs from the leadoff spot (44) behind Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon (53).
Just think where the Yankees would be without Gardner.
“I don’t know if any of us would have predicted he would have hit 15 home runs,’’ manager Joe Girardi said, “but I’ve never felt double-digits was out of the realm for him. The big thing for him is that he has been able to stay healthy.’’
Gardner leads the Yankees starters with a .284 batting average.
For his part, Gardner said he is able to stay balanced in the box, which has led to his success.
“[Home runs] are not my game,’’ Gardner said with a smile. “I’m just happy to be able to go out there and repeat my swing and swing at good pitches to hit and not chase too many pitches out of the zone.’’
His game is speed and he is learning to accept jogging around the bases. “It’s nice for a change not to have to beat out an infield hit or a hustle double or triple or something like that,’’ he said.
As for the Yankees, Gardner added, “It’s about time to get on a roll.’’
That won’t be easy since the Tigers’ aces are coming to town.
Gardner was a third-round pick in 2005 for the Yankees. They have been heavily criticized for their drafts, but in Gardner and in Dellin Betances, an eighth-round pick in 2006, they have developed two players who have been key to their success.
Betances came on in the eighth and was spectacular again with two more strikeouts.
And this was a game the Yankees had to have for so many reasons. The Yankees were losing 3-0 (again) but came back to tie it in the second inning, thanks to another wild starter for the Red Sox, who are quickly learning life without Jon Lester is not going to be pleasant.
With the score tied, 7-7, Gardner put the Yankees ahead with a solo blast to deep right in the sixth against Craig Breslow.
A loss Sunday night would have given the Red Sox the series and would have been the seventh straight series the Yankees had lost against an AL East opponent. But that changed with the win.
The signing of Gardner to a four-year, $52 million extension before the season was brilliant.
As for Betances, what do the opposing hitters say about the BIG righty, who has dominated all season and hit the magic 100-mark on the radar gun three times Saturday in the 6-4 win over the Red Sox?
“Facing a guy with that kind of fastball and that kind of breaking ball, it’s uncomfortable, that’s what the hitters always tell me,’’ Mark Teixeira said. “That slider makes it almost unhittable. The word I hear the most is nasty.’’
Catcher Francisco Cervelli said he hears the same comments from hitters.
“They’re always saying he’s nasty,’’ Cervelli noted. “He’s big, he hides the ball a little bit and his mechanics are weird and he’s nasty, just so hard to hit. That curve ball comes from the roof.’’
Betances is the Big Nasty. His 98 strikeouts this season are the most among relievers.
In so many ways, Gardner and Betances have saved the day.