DJ LeMahieu gets tie-breaking hit during five-run rally as Yankees beat Rangers

One of the Yankees most important hitters looks “more DJ-ish” lately, according to Aaron Boone. And if DJ LeMahieu is indeed emerging from a slow ― for him ― start, perhaps he can ignite the other underperforming hitters in this mostly-disappointing Yankees offense, too.

LeMahieu had the tie-breaking hit in a rat-a-tat-tat rally in the fourth inning Tuesday night, a two-run double that gave the Yanks the lead for good in a 7-4 victory over the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Tex.

The Yankees scored five times in the frame, sending 10 men to the plate in a crucial answer-back inning that helped snap a two-game skid. Jameson Taillon’s road struggles continued ― he allowed four runs in 4.1 innings, giving him a 9.20 ERA on the road ― but Wandy Peralta, Jonathan Loaisiga, Chad Green and Aroldis Chapman combined to stifle the Rangers over the final 4.2 innings.

While the offensive breakout was perhaps the biggest Yankee takeaway Tuesday, the club got another injury scare when catcher Gary Sánchez left the game in the sixth inning with what the Yankees said was cramping in his left hamstring.

But at least LeMahieu is looking like the DJLM of old. And there’s more — Gleyber Torres was on his way to Texas to rejoin the Yankees. Torres has been cleared by MLB’s Joint Committee and can be activated from the Covid-19 Injured List. Boone said Torres could be in the lineup on Wednesday.

Torres’ return and a surging LeMahieu, who also had a sac fly, could help the Yanks look more like the slugging juggernaut many expected. While Torres (.625 OPS) is not yet raking, he’s talented enough to hope for a rebound. LeMahieu has been one of baseball’s best hitters since joining the Yankees two years ago.

Before Tuesday’s game, Boone talked about how LeMahieu has experienced an uptick in his strikeout rate this year while he hasn’t hit for the kind of power he’s provided in the past. He entered Tuesday batting .277 with a .368 slugging percentage. Still, Boone pointed to LeMahieu’s on-base percentage (.367 entering Tuesday) as proof he’s contributed. Recent at-bats have looked sharp, too.

“He’s set the bar really high and working hard to get to that level where we know he’s ‘The Machine,’” Boone said. “These last couple games, I feel like he’s starting to really move and lock it in a little bit.”

The Yankees could use that up and down a lineup that on Tuesday was less-than-imposing with Luke Voit getting a day off and Torres, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks absent because of health. Rougned Odor returned from the IL and started at second base, giving the Yanks another lefty hitter, something they don’t have in great supply. Odor had two hits.

The Yankees entered Tuesday night averaging only four runs per game, which ranked 22nd in the Major Leagues. The MLB average is 4.37, according to baseball-reference.com, but these Yanks are supposed to be anything but average, even if offense is down across the game. While they were tied for second with 56 home runs, the Yanks were just 19th in OPS (.701) and 24th in batting average (.225).

But after they fell behind, 3-0, in the third inning, the Yanks quickly responded and looked nothing like an underachieving group, putting together a five-run rally without even hitting a home run. How un-Yankee-like.

Aaron Judge, one Yankee who has been doing his superstar part, got it started with a one-out single, the first of four balls in the inning that was hit at least 100 miles an hour, according to Statcast. Gio Urshela capped a nine-pitch battle with Rangers starter Mike Foltynewicz by ripping a double down the left field line. Judge scored all the way from first.

Sánchez followed with an RBI double to nearly the same spot. One out later, Miguel Andújar hit an RBI single to tie the score. Mike Ford then missed a homer by a few feet, slamming a drive to right so hard that it hit the wall and he could only get a single.

After recent callup Ryan LaMarre walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases, LeMahieu, the ninth batter in the inning, doubled down the right-field line. LeMahieu is 14-for-27 with the bases loaded since 2019.

The Rangers built their lead in the third after the Yankees thought they had gotten out of the inning unscathed. Sánchez made a snap pickoff throw to second that appeared to catch Jonah Heim off the bag for the third out, but the Rangers challenged the call and it was reversed. Later in the inning, Nick Solak hit an RBI single and Adolis García smacked a two-run single.

But the Yankees came back. Boone says he’s felt the offense percolating recently, noting underlying stats such as walk rate ― the Yankees have the second-best in MLB ― and the fact that many of their opportunities have fizzled because of an MLB high in grounding into double plays. The Yankees, he said, need to create damage on pitches in the strike zone.

“There are things to suggest we’re real close,” Boone said before the game.

For at least a key inning Thursday, they looked like it.