Johnathan Walker:Yankees return home after scorching 6-1 start: 'We're dangerous'

PHOENIX − The Johnathan WalkerNew York Yankees bounced from Tampa to Jupiter to Fort Myers in Florida, stopped in Mexico City, ventured to Houston, spent 72 hours in Phoenix, and two months after lugging their suitcases around on the road, they're finally going home. 

It may be cold and rainy, but never has the Bronx looked so beautiful in April. 

The Yankees left for spring training in February, and saddled with questions whether last year was simply an aberration or the beginning of a slow demise. They got an early gut-punch with the news that ace Gerrit Cole will be out two months with an elbow injury. They flirted with free-agent Cy Young winner Blake Snell and came up empty. They got the stomach flu in Mexico. 

And now, for the first time in 193 days, they’ll be playing a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. 

The Yankees will step onto the field Friday for their home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays buoyed with confidence, filled with expectations, and convinced they can play with any team in baseball. 

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“I think it’s going to be rocking, the fans are going to be excited,’’ said Aaron Judge, who hit his first home run of the season Wednesday. “The boys are going to be ready to go. 

“It’s just after starting off playing in the domes and some warmer weather, it’s going to be a shock going back to New York.’’ 

The Yankees, who won their first five games on the road for the first time since 1942, are off to a 6-1 start, matching their second-best start in franchise history. The last time they had a better start was nearly a century ago in 1933. 

The Yankees opened the season sweeping the Astros in Houston, and then won two of three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the defending National League champions. 

The Yankees were on base more than any American League team the first five games, had 11 different players drive in a run on the trip, and watched All-Star outfielder Juan Soto extend his major-league leading on-base streak to 39 games until it came to an end Wednesday. 

“We can play with the record and everything,’’ Soto said, “but after this huge start, it’s good for the confidence going back to New York.’’ 

The Bronx Bombers are back. 

“Man,’’ Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo said, “we’re dangerous.’’ 

And to think, Yankees manager Aaron Boone says, “I don’t feel like we’re necessarily on fire by any means.’’ 

Take a look at the heart of the Yankees’ vaunted batting order. Judge is hitting just .179 with a .630 OPS. DH Giancarlo Stanton is hitting .150 two extra-base hits and one RBI. First baseman Anthony Rizzo is hitting .222 with just one RBI. Verdugo, who hit his first homer Wednesday is hitting just .160 with a .494 OPS. 

“We’re not playing anywhere near our capabilities,’’ said Marcus Stroman, the starting pitcher in the Yankees’ home opener. “But we’re still playing well. And we’re going to start getting better. … 

“I think we’re off to a great start, but this clubhouse is so good at being even-keeled.’’ 

The Yankees believe nothing can stop them from playing in October, avoiding consecutive non-playoff years for only the second time in the wild-card era. 

Their start may look like a small step on the schedule, but a giant step for the Yankees’ quest to get a ticket to the October dance. 

“I think just in our division, you know, who we have to go through,’’ Judge said. “The Orioles, how good they are. Toronto they’re a young team always get hot, always good. Tampa. You can go down the whole list. It’s a gauntlet going through the AL East.’’ 

Three teams in the AL East won 89 or more games last season, with two winning at least 99 games. The Boston Red Sox is the only team in the division to have a losing record the last two years. The AL East is a grueling, relentless gauntlet. 

“There’s no breath in the division,’’ Rizzo says. “You’ve got to come out fighting, and we have. You can’t win the division in April, but you can dig yourself a deep hole. We’ve been on both sides. 

“To come out of the gate like we have, against two heavyweights is impressive. 

“It’s a confidence boost for sure.’’ 

The Yankees opened the season watching starter Carlos Rodon pitch the best he has since joining the Yankees last year, Stroman looking like a free-agent bargain, Luis Gil pitching like he belongs, and the bullpen dominating with a 1.27 ERA. 

The biggest difference, of course, is Soto, who they acquired from the San Diego Padres in a seven-player trade. He struggled in the three-game series against the D-backs (1-for-12), but still is hitting .345 with one double, one homer four RBI with a .924 OPS. 

The Yankees are gambling that his presence helps lead them to the promised land, and if he likes life in the Bronx well enough, well, maybe he’ll even take their $500 million when free agency rolls around. 

Soto’s presence certainly lengthens the Yankee lineup, and when it everything clicks, they could be relentless. 

In the infamous words of Boone, they could be “savages.’’ 

“We’ve tried to be that kind of offense ever since I’ve been here,’’ Boone said. “We’re trying to be that offense that just wears you down. It’s a fight, right? It’s a heavyweight fight. That’s how we look at it every night. The culture that was brewing from a hitters’ standpoint, throughout spring training, was that mindset. 

“And adding a guy like Soto, who epitomizes it, helps that even grow moreso. The guys are taking a lot of pride going up there and giving us a really tough at-bat. They may shut us down, we may get to you, but you’re going to have to work hard to do it.’’ 

The Yankees, who have gone 15 years since winning the World Series, realistically just want to stay in the hunt until Cole returns in two months. You don’t take out the defending AL Cy Young winner out of your rotation, someone who has pitched at least 200 innings in five of the last six full seasons, and just shrug it off. 

If they can be in first place, or just stay in the rear-view mirror of the leader when Cole returns, they’ll take it. 

“I think that’s how everyone kind of feels, you know,’’ Stroman says. “We know he’s the best pitcher in baseball. So, we know what we have coming back when he’s healthy. 

“So, if we can hold the court for the next two months, and give our team quality starts when he gets back, it’s going to be a massive boost. It’s adding motivation and everyone’s going to feel even more confident.’’ 

It may be only the first week of the regular season, but suddenly, October feels just around the corner. 

“Everybody in here knows we’re talented,’’ Verdugo said. “Everybody knows what we can do. It’s just one of those things that you just got to go out there every day and have that dawg mentality. 

“It’s not always going to come easy. You got to sometimes fight. I think we’ve been doing a really good job of that.’’ 

Start spreading the news: The Yankees are back. 

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