Yankees need to get our s-t together with Red Sox right on our ass in AL East after wild surge
The Yankees welcomed one of the hottest teams in the majors to The Bronx on Friday night in the Braves.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.
The hottest team has been flying into their rearview mirror in the division, and is just as close as it appears.What once might have seemed laughable six weeks ago — that the Red Sox, after firing Alex Cora in late April and later diving 14 games under .500, would soon be breathing down the Yankees’ neck — is no longer a laughing matter.After a ridiculous 13-inning win on Thursday night, the Red Sox entered Friday just a half-game back of the Yankees for second place in the AL East, on torrid stretches of 26-3 and 31-5 that suddenly put Aaron Boone’s club at risk of falling into third place and the second AL wild card with less than two months left in the regular season.“They’re right on our ass.We got to pick it up,” Cam Schlittler told The Post on Friday afternoon.
“I don’t know how that doesn’t motivate us a little bit, just with the position Tampa’s in [leading the division by 4 ¹/₂ games], Boston’s right there.I think [we] got to play better baseball if [we] want to solidify ourselves for a playoff spot and try to go win the division.“We got to get our s–t together a little bit if we want to — things were comfortable for a little bit, now they’re not.
Things have been up and down.We got to play better, consistent baseball and obviously when I’m out there, that starts with me on the mound.”The last time the Yankees saw their archrivals in person, they arrived at Fenway Park on June 25 in first place at 48-31, leading the Rays by three games and the Red Sox by 15 ¹/₂.
The Red Sox were 32-46, seemingly an afterthought in the basement of the AL with the second-worst record in the majors.Schlittler took the mound for the series opener against his hometown team and gave up four une...