When the Yankees acquired Starlin Castro last December, they believed he was a major upgrade over Brian Roberts and Stephen Drew who had followed Robinson Cano at second base.
Castro is never going to be Cano, but Tuesday night he thrilled a Yankee Stadium crowd like Cano used to and provided hope that a season-defining homestand is headed in the right direction.
A two-run homer in the second inning that landed in the second deck of the left-field seats and a two-run double in the sixth by Castro helped carry the Yankees to a 7-1 win over the Orioles in front of 31,192.
“It was huge to win that game,’’ Castro said of the Yankees’ third straight victory that got them over .500 at 47-46, pulled them within 6 ½ lengths of the AL East-leading Orioles, who have dropped three straight, and pushed the record on a crucial 10-game homestand to 3-2.
Castro, who took hitting advice from Carlos Beltran recently, and is hitting .354 (17-for-48) since July 4, had help.
Nathan Eovaldi’s first start since July 1 and after three bullpen outings, provided 5 1/3 innings and one run. The bases-loaded mess he left Anthony Swarzak in the sixth was cleaned up by the right-hander, who didn’t allow a run in 2 2/3 innings. Helping Swarzak not let any of the three runners he inherited from Eovaldi score was a sharp over-the-shoulder catch on a foul pop by first baseman Rob Refsnyder near the stands for the second out of the sixth.
Chase Headley’s two-run homer in the eighth provided a six-run bulge and kept Joe Girardi from having to call on any member of the Holy Trinity Of Smoke for a third straight evening.
Girardi had Betances throwing lightly during the top of the seventh, but Swarzak retired the Birds in order. As for the critical sixth, Swarzak surfaced to see Mark Trumbo, the AL’s leading home run hitter with 28, ready to hit.
“You want to challenge with your best stuff,’’ said Swarzak, who watched Refsnyder make the tough play and throw home to keep Adam Jones at third.
Much has been made of what the homestand means regarding what the Yankees will do before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. A 5-5 ledger likely means the Yankees will entertain offers for Aroldis Chapman and Beltran and possibly others. A 7-3 mark would mean the Yankees could be in the market to add players and not subtract. What about 6-4? That’s the wild card.
“I try to focus on the game at hand, my focus is to make up ground,’’ Girardi said.
When the homestand opened with two losses to the Red Sox, ground was lost. The Yankees entered Sunday night’s Red Sox game a season-high 9 ½ lengths off the lead. Wednesday they hand the ball to the wildly inconsistent Michael Pineda with a chance to pull within 5 ½ games of first place.
Castro said Beltran spotted him holding the bat too tight with his hands and suggested loosening up and the advice has paid off. Where it leads remains wide open, but Tuesday night Castro’s bat kept the Yankees believing that the season-defining homestand could turn out the way they wanted it to and keep from having to say so long to each other.
