Joe Girardi has talked about the Yankees being in “playoff mode” for a while now, with his team treading water around .500 and on the verge of falling out of any postseason conversation with the trade deadline approaching.
If that’s the case, they should be prepared for the upcoming series against the Giants, who are throwing three starters at them who look like they belong in an NLDS.
First, they’ll get Madison Bumgarner in Friday’s opener, followed by Jeff Samardzija on Saturday and Johnny Cueto on Sunday.
Among them, the trio has made seven All-Star appearances.
“It’s a huge series,” Carlos Beltran said after the Yankees dropped Thursday’s game, 4-1, to the Orioles, as they failed to finish a four-game sweep. “We’re facing good pitchers and a good team. We need to play the same type of game as we did against Baltimore.”
The three wins against the Orioles, though, came against starters Kevin Gausman, Vance Worley and Yovani Gallardo — not quite the same caliber of pitcher.
“We can’t worry about that,” Beltran said.
They’ve got enough on their plate already.
Not only did they fall back to a game over .500 (48-47), the Yankees are now heading into three games against a first-place team in the Giants before heading to Houston, where the Astros have bolted up the AL West since a slow start.
Asked if the constant pressure the Yankees have placed on themselves because of their prolonged inconsistency has taken a toll, Beltran shrugged.
“We know as a team that we have to win,” Beltran said. “That’s the mentality here. We know San Francisco is playing good baseball overall.”
Bumgarner, who has pitched in the past four All-Star Games, will be the first challenge. The lefty has never faced the Yankees, but Beltran has had success against him in the past.
“He’s tough,’’ said Beltran, who is 3-for-9 with two homers and six RBIs versus Bumgarner in his career. “But it doesn’t matter who we’re playing anymore. We have to win, whether they are struggling or they are a great pitcher. That’s the mentality we have.”
The task doesn’t figure to get easier with Masahiro Tanaka pitching on normal rest Friday instead of the five days between starts that has made him significantly more effective.
With Chad Green tossing 2 ¹/₃ innings in relief of CC Sabathia on Thursday, the right-hander can no longer go on Friday. That means the inconsistent Ivan Nova is slated to pitch Saturday, followed by the equally vexing Nathan Eovaldi Sunday.
“We’ve beaten good teams before,’’ Beltran said. “We just need to do it again.”