Appreciate where the Yankees were — not done, but in an appropriate place to begin thinking about what should be on the year-end video and formulating the proper words for a eulogy on this pleasantly surprising season.
It wasn’t just that they were authoring one of their worst efforts of the season for two-thirds of ALCS Game 4. It wasn’t just that they were down by four runs with nine outs left. It wasn’t just that Dallas Keuchel was awaiting in Game 5 and the latest reports are that he last gave up a run to the Yankees during the Jurassic Period.
It was all of that, the walls of reality closing fast on this team, the end now palpable, bordering on inevitable.
But these Yankees keep telling us they are not ready to go home yet and, really, after Tuesday night, who would ever disagree with that sentiment now.
“This team is so resilient,” Austin Romine said.
In the end, it is not just that the Yankees eradicated 0-4 down in Game 4 and now 0-2 down in this series. It feels like they have awakened something from the past. This version of Yankee Stadium has never been this loud, even when it opened in the championship year of 2009.
“I just feel like the fans are back,” said Joe Girardi, who has experienced substantial moments at the old stadium as a player and this new one now as a manager. “I see things that I haven’t seen in a while and it reminds me a lot of when I was playing here.”
More and more, there is a hearkening to the outset of the last dynasty when the fans embraced emerging stars, who showed not just talent, but a group dynamic of unity and perseverance — a fighting sense that all was possible.
The Yankees rallied against Chris Devenski, Joe Musgrove and Ken Giles on Tuesday as if they were Arthur Rhodes, Byun-Hyun Kim and Armando Benitez — relievers not built for this moment and atmosphere.
Someplace in a haze of bad pitches and good at-bats, the Yankees came all the way back from poor play and facing Keuchel and elimination to win 6-4, to tie this ALCS at two games apiece, to serve one more reminder that this is a team that is not going away easily — and maybe not at all.
The Yankees are now 5-0 at home in these playoffs. Think about that, 5-0. They won a sudden-death wild-card affair against the Twins in which they quickly trailed 3-0. They beat the Indians twice in elimination contests to force a decisive game back in Cleveland. They have now won twice against Houston after falling behind 0-2 in the ALCS, including being down 4-0 in Game 4 with Keuchel looming Wednesday.
So now we will find out what is stronger — Keuchel vs. the Yankees or the Yankees in the Bronx. Keuchel has an 0.85 ERA in eight starts against the Yankees, including 13 shutout innings in the playoffs after his seven-inning gem in Game 1.
The Yankees are going to have to win at least one game started by either Keuchel or Justin Verlander to win this ALCS. It is a mammoth challenge, but these Yankees have shown they are up for the competition, that they can rise to the moment.
For 6 ¹/₃ innings Tuesday, the Yankees — aside from Sonny Gray — played more ’62 Mets than ’96 Yankees. Aaron Judge had a base-running blunder, Romine a key catcher’s interference, Starlin Castro two miserable errors, David Robertson an unsatisfactory relief outing and the whole lineup was baffled by Lance McCullers Jr.
But the soft underbelly of this Houston team is its pen. The Yankees just needed to get to it, and when Judge crushed a homer to straightaway center on the first pitch of the bottom of the seventh, it was “a little spark,” in Girardi’s words. McCullers exited, the Astros pen got involved and the somber crowd began its steady rise in throaty joy, motivation and intimidation.
“We figured if someone kick-started us, we could be OK and the big man came through,” Todd Frazier said.
That began a 12-batter span covering the seventh and eighth in which the Yanks went 7-for-10 with a walk and sac fly, with Judge and Gary Sanchez delivering huge at-bats in both innings. By the time it was done, Yankee Stadium sounded like something from the past because the Yanks were tied in this ALCS in the present.
“The ballpark is alive,” Judge said.
So are the Yankees. The highlight films and eulogies can wait.