Yankees’ offense goes off again to survive Rockies scare

Call the Yankees’ lineup whatever you want. Lately, you can call them unstoppable.

They reached double digits for the first time on Saturday since they played arena baseball against the Red Sox in London last month and needed the outburst in an 11-5 victory over the Rockies.

But despite it being 94 degrees at first pitch — the hottest game the Yankees have played this season — they didn’t hit a homer.

“It shows that it’s a really good offense,’’ DJ LeMahieu said. “We can beat you in a lot of ways.”

It was the Yankees’ fifth straight win — and Colorado’s sixth straight loss — as the division between the haves and have-nots becomes wider by the day. And the lineup manager Aaron Boone called “savages” on Thursday has scored at least five runs during each game of the current winning streak.

This win, though, didn’t come without some drama.

First, Luke Voit left the game after being clipped in the face by a 91 mph fastball from Chad Bettis in the fourth inning. Voit remained in the game and scored later in the inning, but was removed before the fifth. He underwent tests as directed by the concussion protocol and they came back clean.

And in the eighth, Colorado right-hander Jairo Diaz buzzed Austin Romine several times.

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Though Boone said he didn’t think there was any intent, the Yankees were still upset at the close calls — particularly after the pitch to Voit.

“We didn’t like it,’’ Boone said. “Sometimes intent doesn’t matter. Throw the ball over the plate.”

“There were a lot of balls thrown up and in,’’ Romine said. “Any team can get frustrated at that point. It’s over with. We won. We move on.”

That’s easier to do after a win — one that seemed assured when the Yankees burst to a 9-0 lead.

When the sixth inning began, Masahiro Tanaka had allowed just two singles and thrown 47 pitches. Aaron Judge had been removed from the game to take advantage of the lopsided score on a hot day.

Then, with one out in the sixth, six consecutive batters reached against Tanaka. Nolan Arenado hit a three-run shot that turned a laugher into something more serious.

Tanaka blamed a splitter that abandoned him mid-game.

“It just became flat,’’ Tanaka said through an interpreter. “I kind of lost the movement of the split. I can’t give up that many runs regardless of not having the splitter. I’ve got to find a way get through innings without giving up damage.”

Against a dreadful team like Colorado, which is in the midst of a freefall, the Yankees and Tanaka survived without much trouble.
Judge started the scoring with an RBI double in the first before the Yankees scored five runs in the second.

Didi Gregorius started the inning with a double. Gleyber Torres singled to left and as Raimel Tapia tried to figure out where to throw the ball, Torres tried to get to second. Colorado starter Antonio Senzatela cut off Tapia’s lazy throw and fired wildly to second. The ball went into right field, allowing Gregorius to score and Torres to advance to third.

Torres then scored on Romine’s single to right to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. The hapless Rockies then allowed Romine to swipe second, the fourth of his career.

Aaron Hicks’ RBI single loaded the bases, and Edwin Encarnacion ripped a double down the left-field line to score two more to make it 6-0 and mercifully end Senzatela’s miserable afternoon.

Tanaka, meanwhile, barely allowed a ball out of the infield until the sixth before faltering.

The Yankees added two more runs in the seventh and Tommy Kahnle and David Hale pitched well out of the bullpen — but it all started with another fast start by the lineup.

“We got some breaks in that [second] inning and took advantage of them,’’ Boone said. “To take a big lead on a hot day, I think it was a challenge for everyone. … It was important.”

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