The Gio Show must go on.
To make the Yankees the best they can be, they need to keep Gio Urshela at third base. That means Miguel Andujar will mainly be a DH.
Urshela lined a one-out, two-run home run to center field in the ninth inning Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium off ex-Met Anthony Swarzak to tie the game at 4-4. The Yankees beat the Mariners, 5-4, when DJ LeMahieu singled home Cameron Maybin with two outs for the walk-off win.
Urshela’s confidence is off the charts and should be. He is batting .360. His offense is incredibly improved.
When I asked the biggest change he made offensively, Urshela said, “The confidence I have in the field, I bring to the plate.’’
That confidence showed in the ninth as he fouled off some tough pitches, then went yard.
“What a great at-bat there with two strikes,’�� manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s getting his ‘A’ swing off a lot. That’s some of the power we saw from him in spring training and you know, on a damp night right there, going out the front door. That’s a bomb.”
Yes, it was.
“I fought off some fastballs and got the pitch I wanted,’’ Urshela said.
Said LeMahieu: “Wouldn’t be in that position without Gio, him hitting that homer gave us new life there. Once we tied it up, you kind of got the feeling we’re gonna win this game somehow.’’
Luke Voit has improved enough defensively to remain at first, giving Andujar an opening at DH. Depending on what injured Yankees return, that can change, but it’s clear they are at their best when Urshela, who hails from Colombia, is the third baseman.
Urshela, 27, has the potential to be a Gold Glove third baseman. The Yankees are not good enough defensively to take that for granted.
Boone said Urshela is so good defensively, he essentially “laughs at ground balls.’’
Told of that remark, Urshela laughed and told The Post, “I do. I want every ball hit to me.’’
Only 21 players born in Colombia have made the majors. Urshela said he really started to focus on baseball instead of soccer at the age of 9. Some of the players he admired who came from Colombia were Orlando Cabrera (who is also from Cartagena, Urshela’s hometown) and Cabrera’s brother Jolbert and Edgar Renteria.
Brett Gardner remembers a fantastic play Urshela made against him in 2015 while Urshela was with the Indians, a jump throw on a ball he snagged down the line.
Gardner knows what makes a winning team, and he ranks Urshela’s defense as Gold Glove-caliber.
“You can’t afford to give away extra outs and when you have someone who is that good, who just gobbles up everything, it lifts up a team,’’ Gardner said.
As a starter, Urshela is hitting .409.
“We always felt he could be better with the bat,’’ general manager Brian Cashman said. “Right now he’s proven that.’’
Cashman & Co. stole Urshela from the Blue Jays for cash considerations last August.
“There are a handful of really good third basemen,’’ Boone said. “You think about [Matt] Chapman in Oakland and [Nolan] Arenado and [Manny] Machado, but from what we’ve seen from Gio and the reputation that he has around the league, he’s every bit performed in an extremely high-level Gold Glove caliber, certainly.’’
Urshela at third and Andujar at DH is the way Boone will go for now. Urshela did make a rare error Tuesday night when he was at shortstop in the shift.
“Miggy will be back out there at some point this week, but Gio very much has worked himself into the mix especially with how our roster sits right now,’’ Boone said.
Andujar’s defense has always been a bit shaky, and with his shoulder injury, it is even more of a question mark. Go with the defense and the improved bat.
“Gio has been impactful at the plate and it’s been one of those performances that have allowed us to continue to win games,’’ Boone said seven hours before Urshela’s home run enabled the Yankees to win.
The Gio Show is a hit.