Can Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Yankees keep winning this way? Takeaways from latest victory

TORONTO – As the victory music thumped late Wednesday afternoon, more than one Yankees player quoted from the club’s poet laureate in cleats, Alex Verdugo.

“It goes to show what kind of team we have,’’ said Jose Trevino, after the Yankees’ road-trip saving comeback win against the Toronto Blue Jays. “I think Verdugo said it, we’re just a bunch of dawgs.’’

Trevino’s pinch-hit single tied it, and Aaron Judge’s two-run single completed a four-run ninth, sending the Yankees toward a 6-4 win, sealed with another defensive gem by shortstop Anthony Volpe.

“I think it’s just the confidence we have in each other,’’ Judge said at Rogers Centre, where the Yankees narrowly escaped being swept.

“You look around this room…we have a lot of dawgs like Doogie says.’’

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Yankees' late magic strikes again

Maybe this kind of late, late show isn’t a sustainable business model for a six-month season, but these Yankees – with six comeback wins – are establishing a valuable never-say-die trait.

“We’re grinding every day, we’re playing 27 outs and that’s what it’s all about,’’ said Juan Soto, on base five times Wednesday, including an eighth inning solo home run.

“Win or lose, they’re just competing so well, night in and night out,’’ said manager Aaron Boone, whose team trailed 4-1 after seven innings and 4-2 entering the ninth.

“We hung around… and were able to break through.’’

Aaron Judge changes a narrative with one swing

Had the Yankees gone down meekly in the ninth, there’d have been an entirely different vibe around Judge moving into this weekend’s home series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Until his tie-breaking base hit off lefty Tim Mayza, the Yankees captain was 0-for-4 with a double play grounder and three strikeouts, making him 0-for-12 with seven Ks for the series.

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“Trust your swing, trust your game plan, trust your approach,’’ said Judge, who pulled a full-count slider inside the third base line.

“It doesn’t matter what happened before,’’ said Judge. “You can change the course of everything with just one swing.’’

Still, it’s been a rough start for Judge, batting .183 through 19 games, but this is not an entirely Judge-dependent Yankees lineup anymore.

Despite another outing from a Toronto starter, this time Kevin Gausman, the Yanks got to Toronto’s compromised bullpen, and “the guys all in front of me were having great at-bats (to) get us in that situation,’’ said Judge.

The Juan Soto Effect

Before he dubbed the Yanks’ lineup as “dawgs,’’ Verdugo coined “The Soto Effect.’’

Soto’s wear-you-down at-bats have made an impact, which on Wednesday included an RBI double, solo homer and a full count walk ahead of Judge in the ninth.

We just want to give our team the best chance to win, whether that’s in the first inning or the ninth inning or in extras, whatever it is.

“We all know what kind of players we have, and I trust every single one of them,’’ said Soto, and that includes Trevino coming off the bench for a huge, game-tying hit.

And the blast that got things started in the ninth, Giancarlo Stanton’s monstrous leadoff home run.

"That got everybody going,'' said Judge.

‘A pure team win'

As part of the ensemble, and not a middle-of-the-order focus, Stanton is leading the team with five home runs - with No. 5 stirring the Yanks toward a comeback win.

"All game, I thought we were a little flat, offensively, defensively,'' Judge said. "We were talking every single inning, 'Hey, let’s pick it up a notch,' '' said Judge. "Finally, Big G stepped up…and I really think he got us going.''

Gleyber Torres, 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, followed with a single, Verdugo doubled and the comeback was taking shape.

"To get it late, if feels pretty good,'' said Marcus Stroman, who limited the damage to two runs over 5.1 innings. "I feel like we’re never out of it.''

As Stanton called, "a pure team win, for sure.''

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Can Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Yankees keep winning this way? Takeaways