CHICAGO — It's not just the Yankees.
It is a source of both comfort and amazement.
The Yankees are 30-38 since finishing with a major league-best record of 50-22 on June 14. But the Orioles are just 36-36 in that same span, and the Yankees have lost just four games in the AL East standings, going from 3.5 games back to 0.5 games back.
The Yankees are still in good form, but they missed a golden opportunity to close the gap and will need to perform well in their remaining 22 games if they want to have any hope of winning the division.
But as the calendar turned from August to September, the Yankees still weren't playing at their best, losing six of their past eight games heading into Friday's showdown with the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
“We know what's in front of us and we've got to grab it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before flying out of Texas late Wednesday night. “Nobody's going to give it to us and nobody's going to feel sorry for us.
“There will be many people out there who are against us, and we have to have a take-on-the-world attitude. [mentality]”Win this game, win this division, get a chance to make this playoff round. It's all in our favor. We've got to do it.”
The Yankees have been on a roll through the first two and a half months of the season, giving them some breathing room when their performance inevitably dipped.
And while they bounced back from their summer slump by the end of July, they haven't fully recovered since then, and time for recovery is running out.
The Yankees will try to get back on track with the return Friday of Luis Gil, who was activated from the disabled list on Thursday after missing at least 15 days with a back injury.
The Yankees are getting closer to full strength, with Clarke Schmidt due to return from the disabled list on Saturday, but some concerns remain, particularly with a tail-end bullpen that will be teetering between opponents for the time being, shaky starting pitching and the lack of consistency from left fielder Alex Verdugo.
“We trust each other here,” Verdugo said. “We know how good a team we are. We know what we can do if we all work well together and do what we're supposed to do. There's really no need to panic. We've been in this tight American League contention all year. A couple series and we're right there. We just have to go to Chicago, do our job there, steer the ship in the right direction and take it day by day.”
It's easy to say, but hard to do.
Friday's series opener at Wrigley Field, the Yankees' first since 2017, kicks off a 10-game, 10-day stretch against the Cubs, Royals and Red Sox.
The team then heads west to take on the Mariners and Athletics before returning home to face the Orioles (who might win the division) and the Pirates.
Each game will carry more weight as the Yankees approach October, but that's not the approach the team's captain is taking.
“Each game means the same as March 28th,” Aaron Judge said. “It's all the same. Just because there are 22 games left doesn't mean anything to us. It's what we do in the next game that matters. Just give it our all in the next game and keep moving forward.”
If this all feels familiar, that's because the Yankees followed a similar trajectory in 2022. Their best record that year was 61-23 on July 8. From that point on, they went 38-48, but that was still good enough to win the American League East with a 99-63 record.
Beyond the Box Score for the Bombers
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This time around, the Orioles are a bigger threat than the Blue Jays in 2022. But they too are struggling to pull away, giving the Yankees a chance to still control their own destiny.
“We're positioned to get this win,” Boone said, “but to get the win, we've got to play our best and do our best with the 22 games left. That's what it's all about for this team right now. We've got to get the win.”
To make room for Gill's return, the Yankees demoted Scott Efros to Triple-A. The relief pitcher was promoted Sept. 1 and pitched in two games — his first since undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2022 and back surgery last December — but the Yankees seem to believe Gill needs more time in the minor leagues to return.
