Gleyber Torres has already been benched once this season for lack of effort, but the Yankees second baseman cost his team another frustrating performance on Friday night.
But Torres also had a strong offensive performance throughout September, including a one-run single in the seventh inning of a 5-4 win over the Red Sox at the Stadium, helping the team pull off a five-run comeback capped off by Aaron Judge's grand slam.
The run-scoring hit at least partially atoned for a defensive blunder in the sixth inning by Torres, who singled on a grounder to left field before Masanao Yoshida's two-run homer.
The ball, off the bat of Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, ricocheted between Torres and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who quickly went to cover the base.
Torres hadn't even moved a step left on the play, and Duran later scored on Yoshida's two-out smash to right that brought in Boston's first two runs off Yankees starter Clark Schmidt.
“It was just a miscommunication,” Torres told The Post after the game. “I thought Liz was closer, but in that situation, especially late on, that just doesn't happen. It was a miscommunication, but we had to make a run for that ball. That just doesn't happen.”
Manager Aaron Boone removed Torres from the Aug. 3 game against the Blue Jays after the 27-year-old didn't get up to bat and ended up with a single on what should have been a home run.
“He just slid a little bit to the right. It was a ball up the middle, but he had to hit it hard because there was a spot he had to hit it with,” Boone said after Friday's game. “The ball was going to go through anyway, but he had to hit it with hard either way.”
The Yankees have been waiting for months for Torres to hit his stride offensively, but at least the two-time All-Star second baseman is hitting his stride at the right time at the plate with the playoffs rapidly approaching.
Torres is batting .305 in 26 games with one hit and one RBI in four at-bats since Boone named him the leadoff hitter over Juan Soto and Judge in mid-August.
He has been performing well since the start of September, batting .348, on-base percentage .415 and slugging percentage .457, including a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning of Thursday's series opener.
“I've been watching this guy hit for seven years, and he can really hit,” Boone said, “so I always felt like it was just a matter of time before he made his mark.”
Torres was batting .231 at the All-Star break but took over the leadoff spot on Aug. 16 after Anthony Volpe, Alex Verdugo and Ben Rice had held that role for most of the season.
Thursday's homer was Torres' third as a leadoff batter and his fifth for the Yankees this season.
“The first half was really tough,” Torres said. “Obviously I'm happy because we're doing the right things. [at the plate] Right now for the team, especially this final month of the period, we’re getting closer to the playoffs.
“I feel like I can really contribute to the team and I'm happy with where I'm at and I want to keep going.”
