When the Yankees hitters met Thursday, this is what they talked about: Adding more energy, adding more fight to their game.
Four games later, the Yankees have four straight wins, including Sunday’s thrilling walk-off victory, courtesy of Brian McCann’s three-run, 10th-inning, pinch-hit home run.
The 7-4 victory over the White Sox was the second walk-off win of the series and now the Yankees head out on a pivotal road trip feeling they can get to the postseason.
McCann is showing he is a New York fit, no matter what Braves coach Terry Pendleton said earlier this year and the Yankees are making a playoff push that must continue in Kansas City for one game, then on to Detroit and Toronto.
At the end of this long day, the Yankees celebrated at home plate as McCann wound up with a Gatorade bucket on his head, thanks to Brett Gardner.
That’s energy, all right.
“We really talked about adding more energy,’’ Chase Headley said of Thursday’s meeting. “You’ve got to really pull for guys, you have to make it fun. Over the course of a season, sometimes it gets long, you go through tough spells. It was never a problem with not anyone doing their work it was just, ‘Hey, let us enjoy the game, let’s pick up the energy a little bit, let’s get a little bit more fight.’
“I don’t even know if fight is the right word. Energy is probably the best thing I can say.’’
Fight is the right word.
The Yankees fought Sunday against White Sox ace Chris Sale, scoring four runs in the sixth, thanks to a dropped fly ball by left-fielder Dayan Viciedo and a two-run single by Ichiro Suzuki to take a 4-3 lead and then after David Robertson allowed a tying home run in the ninth to Avisail Garcia, the Yankees came back to win it on McCann’s blast off a 3-2 changeup, of all pitches.
The rally was started with a two-out double by Carlos Beltran. Headley was intentionally walked by Jake Petricka and McCann drove his 15th home run of the season into the right-field corner.
Party on.
McCann called the blast his signature moment as a Yankee and showed it, fist-pumping four times between first and second base and shouting for joy all the way around the bases.
Enjoy the moment.
“We’re just grinding a little more,’’ McCann said of the Yankees’ recent success. “It just seems were just playing better.’’
More grind, more fight.
“We came together as a team and discussed some things and since then we’ve been having better at-bats,’’ McCann explained. “Right now we’re just doing it.’’
They need to keep doing it on the upcoming road trip. The Yankees are six back of the Orioles in the AL East, and 3¹/₂ games back in the wild card.
“There is just so much time left,’’ McCann said of the 34 remaining games. “We just focus on us. We just have to win. We’re not worried about what other teams are doing. It starts in here. We’re just worried about ourselves.
“I’m not happy with my season. I’ve played a long time and I haven’t hit .230 too many times,’’ he noted. “Just one of those things.’’
The energy was high Sunday.
“Walk-off moments don’t happen too often,’’ McCann added with a big smile. “That was an amazing moment I will never forget. I was fired up. I was just going to let it out.’’
For it all to matter, the Yankees must find a way to make it to the postseason and the addition of Brandon McCarthy, Martin Prado, and Headley have helped tremendously.
“McCann is a gamer,’’ Prado said of his old Braves’ teammate. “From eight years ago, he’s always been a competitor. He cares about winning. You want 25 guys like that.’’
“Playoffs are what you play for, that’s why you want to come here,’’ McCann said. “It’s special. This place is special.’’
There is only one way to get to the postseason. Energy and fight.