With their playoff position secured on Tuesday, the Yankees have already played four games—soon to be five—where the outcomes don’t really impact their standings.
Beyond just fulfilling obligations, the key focus during this time for the team is making sure that both hitters and pitchers feel good as they head toward more important matches. In this context, Luis García Jr.’s performance in what was effectively a meaningless game during Friday’s doubleheader could turn out to be significant.
The first baseman and designated hitter, who had been struggling for much of the month, showed some of his best form in the Yankees’ 6-3 victory against the Orioles. In the fourth inning, he smashed a fastball straight back toward the pitcher—hitting 105.3 mph—which ended up in the hands of shortstop José Barrero. Manager Aaron Boone remarked that it was “really good to see.”
After earning a walk in the sixth inning, García followed up with an RBI single in the seventh against left-hander Grant Wolfram.
“He’s such a good hitter that you know it’s going to come around,” Boone noted. “We’re kind of hoping that this little slump he’s had for about the last ten days will end just in time for him to really heat up.”
Before this game, García, who had been a standout in August after joining from the Nationals, was batting only .224 with a .579 OPS in his first 18 games of September. Notably, he had walked just once and struck out 18 times during that stretch.
Boone commented, “He’s just been mis-hitting some balls lately, where you feel he’s on time but ends up with a weak fly ball to the outfield. He’s just a bit off.”
His at-bat against Wolfram was particularly promising, especially considering the left-handed pitchers the Yankees will soon face. García typically shines against righties, holding an .865 OPS, but his performance dips to .653 against lefties. With the Red Sox’s rotation full of left-handed pitchers, how Boone decides to use García will be interesting.
If Paul Goldschmidt plays first base against a lefty and Ben Rice—who has performed better against lefties than García—takes on the DH role, García might serve as a strong option off the bench.
Another player making an impression during the doubleheader was Ryan McMahon, who might just be making a late case for time in October. He achieved a double and a single, bringing his recent performance to 4-for-8 with a homer and six RBIs over the last two games. Prior to this stretch, he hadn’t had more than one hit in any of his last 21 games, struggling with a .143 average and a .387 OPS.
This gives Boone one more factor to weigh, particularly as he decides between McMahon (valued for his defense), Amed Rosario (for his right-handed bat), or balanced options like José Caballero or Anthony Volpe as his starting third baseman against Boston.
Due to forecasts of heavy rain and winds later in the day, the regular-season finale against the Orioles on Sunday has been rescheduled to start at 1:05 p.m.
