The Yankees were without Aaron Judge, much offense and arguably much hope.
They had scored five runs in the first 25 innings of the series, and a two-run deficit felt like a 20-run deficit.
But in the closing innings of a game that seemed dead, they found a pulse.
The Yankees entered the bottom of the eighth inning with four hits.
Four hits later — the largest from Harrison Bader, but all from struggling hitters — they pushed across three runs in the frame to complete a surprise, 5-3 comeback victory over the first-place Rangers in front of a sellout crowd of 46,064 in The Bronx on Sunday.
The Yankees (43-35), amid all the Judge uncertainty and offensive malaise, somehow have won two straight series and grabbed four of six in the homestand.
And they did it in rare fashion, improving to 3-27 when trailing after seven innings this season.
In the game-deciding eighth, Anthony Volpe (who entered in a 3-for-20 skid) smacked a leadoff double to left-center.
“I feel like he’s been trending a lot better here the last week or 10 days with the at-bat quality,” manager Aaron Boone said of the shortstop.
Jose Trevino (who had been 4-for-his-past-20) could not get a bunt down, but then singled to the left side.
After a Gleyber Torres fly out, Texas manager Bruce Bochy turned to righty Yerry Rodriguez to face Bader — who ripped a two-run double to left to put the Yankees on top for the first time in the game.
What kind of pitch was Bader looking for?
“The pitch right there,” Bader, who entered 2-for-his-past-16, said with a smile of the high and inside fastball.
Giancarlo Stanton (who stepped into the at-bat 4-for-his-past-50) followed with a rocket single to left to give the Yankees a rare cushion.
“It’s good to see,” Boone said of Stanton’s hit. “Hopefully we can build on that.”
Before the breakthrough, the Yankees’ only runs came in the second inning, when DJ LeMahieu (who stepped into the batter’s box in a 6-for-39 skid) doubled to right-center to drive in two.
The Yankees’ offense was quiet between the second and eighth, but they survived because of Gerrit Cole’s guts and the bullpen’s greatness.
The Yankees won a series in which they scored eight runs because they allowed only seven runs — two of which came in Friday’s 10th inning — to a team that has the best offense in the majors.
“Great job by everyone. Pretty much everyone played a role in that, too,” Boone said of a gassed bullpen that did not have Clay Holmes, Wandy Peralta and Tommy Kahnle available for the rubber game. “Starters and then just about everyone in the bullpen really played an important role for us.”
Cole was not his usual self, but he did not need to be. For the first time all year — and first time since June 9, 2022 — Cole failed to complete five innings.
But the Yankees ace still kept his team afloat while allowing three runs on nine hits and a walk in 4 ²/₃ innings.
“It was a battle for sure,” said Cole, who attributed the results more to the Rangers’ approach than his own stuff. “It was hot, it was sweaty, and they put a lot of good swings on me.
“Limiting the amount of damage and playing a great team game overall is what pushed us over the [top] today.”
Cole handed the game to the bullpen in the fifth inning with the Yankees down, 3-2. Jimmy Cordero recorded three outs and got the ball to Nick Ramirez, who recorded four.
Ron Marinaccio, pitching on a back-to-back, threw a scoreless eighth before Michael King — who had allowed six runs in his past three innings — took care of the heart of the Rangers’ order in the ninth, only allowing a two-out single to Nathaniel Lowe.
“Coming up big after a few where he scuffled a little bit,” Boone said of King, who recorded his fifth save of the season.
The Yankees’ bullpen leads the majors with a 2.85 ERA.
“It’s a big strength of ours, and this series has been kind of a showcase of how good they’ve been,” Cole said of the bullpen.
The Yankees have not led the league in bouncing back and resilience, but perhaps a strong homestand without Judge will prove to be a jumping-off point.
