The Yankees had been playing like a takeoff of a different Sinatra song, not the one thats about being on top of the list and A-Number One, but the one about being on top of the world in April, May before being shot down in June and July. Something close enough to that. But not on this Monday in The Bronx, where the served as a nine-inning microcosm of the early months of the season in which the Yankees broke 45-19 from the gate while establishing a 4 /-game lead in the East by June 6. That was before their rotation, bullpen and batting order all crashed at once through a 29-game stretch that included nine victories before Carlos Rodon dominated from the mound in a brilliant seven-inning performance to front a top-to-bottom 15-hit attack that featured five home runs, two from the resplendent Juan Soto. Juan Soto (R.) celebrates with Aaron Judge after hitting a home run during the Yankees win over the Rays on July 22, 2024. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST The Yankees fall from grace in Queens the final week of June. Now here come the Metsies to The Bronx for the final two-game Subway Series installment on Tuesday and Wednesday. Were just going to try to win games. Whatever happened in the past is in the past, said Soto, whose seventh-inning moonball down the line in right off Kelly Zuber wrenched necks in the Yankees dugout from those attempting to track the trajectory. Were focusing on what is going to happen in this series, were going to try and win that series, too, and keep it rolling. Aaron Boone, the manager, sang the same tune. Well, we want to win but its not so much about Luguentz Dort Jersey the Mets, its where we are in our season and what were fighting for and have been going through, he said. Its not overly personal for me. More From Larry Brooks Major League Baseball has become a playoff sport much like pro hockey and basketball. The concept of a pennant race is anachronistic. Its not nece sarily about the long haul. Its about finishing in the top six of a 15-team league and then putting together wins in series that might involve a best-of-three, a best-of-five and a pair of best-of-sevens. Its about having the right stuff in the final week of October and the first days of November. It is no longer our fabled Summer Game. Youve got to win series. Multiple. Carlos Rodon reacts during the Yankees win over the Rays on July 22, 2024. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST The Yankees, after splitting this four-game set with Tampa Bay, have won one of their last 10 series, losing seven and splitting a pair. This will not do the rest of the way regardle s of the playoff cushion the club holds. If Monday was representative of the Yankees best version of themselves, theyll need to do it again and again and again to convince folks that this team is for real after so having planted so many false flags the last number of seasons. This is hardly the first time their season has resembled a Six Flags ride. Two years ago, the Yankees were 61-23 in the first week of July and were being compared to the 1998 team. They then won 12 of their next 37 games. Last year, the Yankees started 36-25 and crashed immediately after Aaron Judge crashed into the wall at Dodger Stadium. So this recent swoon isnt new. Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+. Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Still, this was a formidable outfit on the field. Rodon was a throwback to early in the season . Indeed, the rotation led baseball with a 2.77 ERA through their first 72 games. But before Rodon whod lost his last five decisions took the mound, the rotation ranked dead last in the majors with a 6.96 ERA over their last 20 games. The Yankees starters looked in the mirror and all except for Cole and Luis Gil, in his past two starts after a three-start implosion saw a fun-house reflection. Now it will be Gil and Cole lined up for the Mets the next two nights. Now it will be a batting order with perhaps some confidence lying in wait after Mondays performance in which everyone had at least one hit other than leadoff man Ben Rice. Soto had three hits and Judge had a pair. But also cleanup man Austin Wells had three hits, including a homer. Anthony Volpe had a pair of hits, including a homer that went back-to-back with Wells in the second. Oswaldo Cabrera had a pair of hits. Even DJ LeMahieu, restored to the lineup, smacked his first home run of the season. The Yankees are now set to host the Mets for the second edition of the Subway Series this year. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST Its always great to see those guys doing what they do best, said Soto, asked about the perception that he and Judge constitute a two-man batting order. Theyre swinging the bat well and we need all those guys. Its going to take more than two guys to go to the World Series and win it. [People] can think whatever they want. We trust and believe in every single guy in here and I think we have anything we need to show them we can do it. We dominated most of the first half and when a team does that, its not only about one or two players. It takes every single guy. The Yankees have dominated a lot of first-halves since 2009. Its not about that. Its about winning October and November. Chris Paul Jersey