What a difference a week makes for recharged Yankees

The Bronx never looked so good to the returning Yankees as it did Monday afternoon. Not this season, anyway.

Among the first sights was Corey Kluber on the main stadium mound, socks high, effortlessly rifling pitches to a few batters, the next major stride toward what could be a late August return from his shoulder strain.

Shortly afterward, Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo took their first batting practice in pinstriped pants. It went as expected, with the lefty duo peppering the short-porch seats and denting the second deck on occasion.

Look a little more closely and you could see Giancarlo Stanton shagging fly balls in rightfield, and this time he wasn’t doing it merely for exercise. Stanton started at the position Monday night, with Aaron Judge moved to DH, as Aaron Boone chose to play him in the outfield for the third time in four games.

All positive signs for the Yankees, along with their opponent: the lowly Orioles, whose .356 winning percentage (37-67) was the second-worst in the majors, with the Diamondbacks (.311) residing at rock bottom.

What a difference a week makes. The previous Monday, the Yankees were reeling from a series of humiliating "gut punches" — Boone’s favorite expression — after dropping three of four at Fenway Park. But they recovered to win five of the next six, including a rare sweep (half-credit because it’s the Marlins). Along the way, Brian Cashman snagged Rizzo, Gallo and Monday night’s starting pitcher, Andrew Heaney, within 48 hours of Friday’s trade deadline.

Cashman’s moves did more than symbolically show the players (and Boone) he had their back. Rizzo was primarily responsible for their sweep of the Marlins, going 5-for-9 with a pair of homers, three RBIs and five runs scored (the Yankees totaled 10 runs overall in three games). He also became the first Yankee with an RBI in each of his first three games with the team since Judge in 2016 and the seventh in franchise history to homer in the first two.

"Obviously, this is a guy with an amazing track record offensively of just consistent performance," Boone said before Monday’s game. "Patient at-bats, power, the ability to handle righthanded and lefthanded [pitching], and just a real presence that he brings with him that we’ve all heard about. But to see him integrate into our room and culture, it’s been as seamless as you would have hoped."

There’s no reason to think that won’t continue for Rizzo in the Bronx, a place that also should spark Gallo as he stares at the rightfield wall only 314 feet down the line. And for all of the Yankees’ offensive woes this season — their 4.09 runs per game ranked 25th, below the aforementioned Orioles (4.15) and D-backs (4.13) — the pitching staff continues to be their savior.

Cashman grabbed the Angels’ Heaney for back-end rotation help, and two days later, Domingo German wound up on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Normally, the German loss would be considered another one of Boone’s gut punches. But having Kluber and Luis Severino on the near horizon, as well as the performance of the rotation overall, makes it considerably less so.

Since the All-Star break, the Yankees’ starting staff has been atop the AL in ERA (2.70), opponents’ batting average (.191) and WHIP (1.06) despite Gerrit Cole’s early stumble in the second half (1-2, 6.06 ERA in three starts). Leading the charge in July has been Jameson Taillon, Cole’s good pal from Pittsburgh, who just earned Pitcher of the Month honors (4-0, 1.16 ERA, 25/10 strikeout/walk ratio).

"He’s been outstanding, Jordan [Montgomery] has been outstanding," Cole said Monday. "I feel that they’re both on a progression throughout the season where they just continue to get better and better, which is always encouraging because we play our most important games toward the end. Quite frankly, everyone else has picked up the slack."

Rizzo and Gallo represent Cashman’s deadline prizes, but two of the Yankees’ biggest acquisitions of the second half are going to be the in-house variety with Kluber and Severino.

We’ve been as guilty as anyone for repeatedly tossing dirt on the 2021 Yankees, who frequently have played as if they were trying to bury themselves. But it’s hard not to see this team truly climbing off the mat — another frequent Boone-ism — to be a legit threat in the ultra-competitive AL East.

The signs of a rebound are there.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.