Yankees' Tyler Wade Providing Boost With Memorable Offensive Stretch

KANSAS CITY — Failing to execute on his first two attempts to lay down a sacrifice bunt in the 10th inning on Monday night, Tyler Wade dug himself into a hole.

Rather than walking back to the dugout after an unproductive at-bat, however, the utility man worked the count and swatted a base hit up the middle.

It was a gritty, nine-pitch at-bat, putting the Yankees in a position to do some damage and eventually push two runs across later in the frame.

"I told him I was upset with him that he didn't get the bunt down," manager Aaron Boone said with a smile on Tuesday. "But then you watch that at-bat and it's just really focused, under control, knowing it's a tough matchup, really good at-bat that he put together and obviously turns out to get a big two-strike hit for us."

Wade's line drive single to center capped off what turned out to be a memorable night for the infielder. With two base hits and a walk, Wade reached base a career-high-tying three times, accomplishing the feat for just the seventh time in his career. 

Factoring in Monday's contributions, the 26-year-old is now hitting .714 (5-for-7) with a fantastic 1.635 OPS over his first six games in the month of August. 

That's obviously a very small sample size, but considering New York is missing starting shortstop Gleyber Torres (thumb sprain) and third baseman Gio Urshela (hamstring), Wade's recent success has been a timely boost for the Bombers.

"His work's been really good," Boone said. "He's worked really hard at everything. Obviously, his defensive versatility is very helpful and a calling card for him. But he's worked very hard on his offense and last night was another really good night where he impacted the game."

Wade didn't play on Wednesday night as New York fell to the Royals. Rougned Odor was back in the lineup at third base and Andrew Velazquez got his second straight start at shortstop. 

If Wade is going to continue to produce offensively—mixed with his speed on the bases and his invaluable versatility on the defensive side of the ball—it'll be hard for Boone to keep Wade's name out of the starting lineup as New York's starters slowly work their way back from the injured list.

"He's worked really hard and he understands that he's an important part of this team and helping us win games," Boone said. 

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• Yankees Outlast Royals in 'Weird, Wild' Extra Innings Marathon

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