MIAMI — If the Yankees are going to claw their way back into a playoff spot, especially with a thinning rotation, it will have to be on the back of their offense.
Friday night offered a glimpse of what that might look like.
The Yankees broke out their bats in a big way, with every member of the starting lineup recording at least one hit, on the way to a 9-4 win over the Marlins at loanDepot Park.
On a day that began with the news that Nestor Cortes is likely done for the season because of another rotator cuff strain — delivering a hit to their postseason chances — the Yankees had a chance to pull back within four games of the final AL wild-card spot pending the Blue Jays’ game against the Cubs.
Anthony Volpe and Aaron Judge crushed home runs to lead an offensive attack in which the Yankees piled up 14 hits and knocked lefty Jesus Luzardo out of the game early.
Seven different Yankees reached base at least twice, including four with multi-hit nights.
Of course, the Yankees have put together games like this offensively on a few occasions of late, only to fail to turn it into a sustained stretch.
They will need Friday to serve as a harbinger of things to come if they are to finally make the run they believe they are capable of.
Randy Vasquez, called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take the rotation spot of the injured Carlos Rodon, was solid behind opener Ian Hamilton.
After Hamilton gave up a pair of runs in the second inning, Vasquez entered for the third and threw 3 ²/₃ innings while allowing two runs.
Volpe got the Yankees going in the second inning.
After back-to-back one-out singles from Giancarlo Stanton and Harrison Bader, Volpe clobbered Luzardo’s 97 mph fastball 404 feet to left field for the 3-0 lead.
It marked the rookie shortstop’s 15th home run of the season.
Judge led off the third inning with a mammoth shot, demolishing another 97 mph fastball 464 feet, halfway up the batter’s eye to make it 4-2.
It was Judge’s 22nd and longest home run of the season.
The Yankees then kept the ball in the park but strung together hits to pad their lead in the fourth inning.
Jake Bauers, Kyle Higashioka, Oswaldo Cabrera and Isiah Kiner-Falefa teamed up for four straight singles to push the lead to 6-2 and end Luzardo’s night.
Before the inning was over, Gleyber Torres added an RBI single to make it 7-2 against reliever George Soriano.
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