Gleyber Torres already was benched once this season for a lack of hustle, and the Yankees’ second baseman cost his team again with another frustrating play Friday night.
But Torres also has been hot at the plate throughout September, and he contributed to the team’s five-run comeback — culminating in Aaron Judge’s grand slam — with an RBI single in the seventh inning of a 5-4 win over the Red Sox at the Stadium.
The run-scoring hit at least partly atoned for Torres’ defensive gaffe in the sixth, when he barely budged for a grounder to his left that went for a single ahead of Masataka Yoshida’s two-run homer.
The chopper off the bat of Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran bounced between Torres and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who immediately broke to cover the bag.
Torres didn’t take even one step to his left on the play, and Duran later scored on Yoshida’s two-out blast to right for Boston’s first two runs against Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt.
“Just a miscommunication,” Torres told The Post after the game. “I thought Rizz was closer, but in that situation, that can’t happen, especially in those late innings. Miscommunication, but I have to make a break for that ball. That can’t happen.”
Aaron Boone had pulled the 27-year-old Torres from a game Aug. 3 for not running out of the box and being held to a single on what he believed would be a home run against the Blue Jays.
“He had just slid over a little bit to his right. It’s one of those in-between balls, but he’s gotta fire for it because there’s nowhere for him to not be,” Boone said after Friday’s game. “I think it’s probably getting through anyway … but regardless, he’s gotta fire for it.”
The Yanks waited for months for Torres to catch fire offensively, and the two-time All-Star second baseman at least is surging at the right time at the plate with the playoffs fast approaching.
After going 1-for-4 with an RBI, Torres is batting .305 in 26 games since Boone elevated him ahead of Juan Soto and Judge into the leadoff spot in the batting order in mid-August.
He’s been even better so far in September, with a slash line of .348/.415/.457 entering the game., including a leadoff home run in the first inning of Thursday’s series-opening win.
“I’ve seen this guy hit now for seven years, and he can really hit,” Boone said. “So I always felt like it was a matter of time before he got going.”
Torres was batting just .231 at the All-Star break, but he took over the leadoff spot Aug. 16 after Anthony Volpe, Alex Verdugo and Ben Rice had handled those duties for much of the season.
Thursday’s homer marked Torres’ third from atop the lineup, and the Yankees’ fifth overall this season.
“The first half was really a struggle for me,” Torres said. “For sure, I feel happy because I’m doing the right thing [at the plate] right now for the team, especially the last month in this stretch, and getting close to the playoffs.
“I feel like I can really help the team, and I feel good right now where I am and just trying to keep it going.”
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