PHILADELPHIA — The Yankees emerged from the trade deadline as the hottest team in baseball.
A trip that started disastrously ended with a comeback, falling to 10-23 on Friday night in Boston in a loss that is a contender for the worst loss of the year.
The Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 on Wednesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, winning their fifth straight game and sweeping the team that had the best record in baseball at the start of the series.
DJ LeMahieu, who was essentially demoted to relief pitcher, had his best performance of the season in the opening game, scoring all six of the team’s runs with a grand slam and a two-run double.
That gave the Yankees (65-45) a 6-3 lead, but the Phillies (65-43) chipped away at the lead as the Yankees hung on in the closing stages.
Tommy Kahnle escaped a seventh-inning pinch when Alex Verdugo made a run against the wall to catch Austin Hayes’ fly to left field, then Mark Reiter Jr. struck out Brandon Marsh to load the bases. Reiter allowed a run on a bounce to right field that Gleyber Torres should have hit.
And Clay Holmes, who was the victim of soft contact while losing a one-run lead in the ninth inning of a 12-inning win Tuesday night, this time survived the final frame.
He allowed a single to leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber, but got Hayes to hit a fly out to the warning track and Bryce Harper to get into a double play to end the game.
The Yankees are back up 20 games over .500 for the first time since losing 54-34 on July 3, and remain half a game behind the Orioles for the AL East lead after Tuesday’s trade deadline.
“I was happy with the team we had before the transfers, and I think it’s improved since the transfers,” general manager Brian Cashman said Wednesday before the team’s first start on the mound. “I think we have a very good team already, and we’ll be even better when we get some of our guys back off injured reserve. And when you factor in the performance of the guys we’ve added, we’re even better.”
Nestor Cortes, whose name had been mentioned in trade discussions in the days prior to his appearance, struck out his first nine batters on Wednesday for his best performance since July 5.
The left-hander, who had given up 15 runs in 13 ⅓ innings over his previous three starts, gave up just three runs in 5 ⅓ innings against the Phillies.
