Yanks still need to add a starter

NEW YORK — Sonny Gray walked to the mound Saturday at Yankee Stadium with all the confidence in the baseball world. Or at least as much confidence and trust a pitcher could engender with an 8.25 home ERA and his club elevating Domingo Acevedo all the way from Double-A just in case, you know, Gray got lit up again.

After this wild, weird Subway Series game ended in a 7-6 victory, the Yankees are on pace to win 104 games and break the major league record for home runs. Yet a robust argument can be made that the Astros, Red Sox and Indians have a better chance to get to the World Series than the Yankees.

That’s because, because despite all the W’s and frightening power, there’s a solid chance the Yankees are looking at a nine-inning wild-card knockout game in October. That’s because of Sonny Gray. That’s becase of Domingo German. With their health issues and inconsistencies, it is to a degree because of CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka.

Brian Cashman needs to pull the trigger on a starting pitcher before the trade deadline. That much has

been clear for weeks. He has the deep pool of prospects to make the move. He has the luxury tax maneuverability. He has Luis Severino and New York’s annual mandate to win the World Series.

So there was Noah Syndergaard on the mound for the Mets on Friday night, and on Sunday night there will be Jacob deGrom. And in picking up his first victory at home since May 5, yes, here was Sonny Gray.

In order, that is what could be in October.

What could be in October.

And what is in July. The story of this day was how Aroldis Chapman, the closer for the best bullpen in baseball, threw 11 successive balls and nearly blew the game. Yet the story of this month, indeed, the rest of the season, is who can Cashman bring to the Bronx to buttress the first World Series appearance since 2009?

Could Cashman land the long shot with Syndergaard or deGrom or Madison Bumgarner? Could he tickle New York’s and Connecticut’s funny bone with Matt Harvey? Will he land one of the more probable suspects like J.A. Happ, Michael Fulmer, Zach Britton, Nathan Eovaldi or Cole Hamels? There are other possibilities, too, but the polish-the-World Series-trophy, definitely available ace? Not easily apparent today.

Against that backdrop, Gray leaned into Brandon Nimmo and struck out the Mets’ leadoff hitter with a nasty curveball. He ended the first by striking out Wilmer Flores with another nasty curve, and the throaty crowd of 47,102 could see why Cashman’s acquisition of Gray from the A’s at the 2017 trade deadline has so excited New York.

And then you see Michael Conforto jump on the first pitch of the second inning, a fastball that tailed fat over the plate, and drive it 398 feet for a homer to right field. You glance down at Gray’s pitching line of 33 earned runs in 36 innings at Yankee Stadium. You remember how Gray was booed off the mound when he surrendered six runs in 2 1⁄3 innings June 30 against the Red Sox. And you wince.

You wonder, even after two positive outings, how Cashman and manager Aaron Boone could trust Gray when the games matter most? Certainly, they didn’t Saturday. That’s why after German — 2-6, 6.58 ERA — was demoted after being smacked around Friday night by the Mets, the Yankees reached all the way down to Trenton for a brief fill-in. Acevedo’s stretched out as a starter, on his fifth day, Boone had explained, so he was “protection.”

In case, you know, Gray gets lit up again at home.

He didn’t. After the Conforto homer, he allowed only two infield hits as the Yankees grabbed a 4-1 lead.

Yet as soon as he walked Conforto and Jose Bautista to lead off the sixth, there was Boone calling for David Robertson.

“I didn’t think Sonny was necessarily great, but that’s the kind of encouraging outing you want to see,” Boone said. “He was solid. When Sonny’s not at his best, he still should be able to go out and pitch like he did today.

“Confidence in this game is huge. I don’t think he lost confidence. He understands how good he can be. I think it’s about finding consistent momentum.”

Gray’s pitching line will show three runs, two earned, but that’s because Robertson allowed an RBI single to Amed Rosario and then allowed Bautista to score when he wildly tried to pick off Rosario.

“For me, there was only one way to go and that’s up,” said Gray, who evened his record at 7-7. “It couldn’t get any worse. Something needed to change. I’m in a much better place.”

So Gray has answered starts against the Red Sox and Blue Jays, where he allowed 11 earned runs in 4 1⁄3 innings, with starts against the hapless Orioles and Mets, where he allowed two earned runs in 11 1⁄3 innings. It’s good that Gray is in a better place.

It’s good that he could walk out of Yankee Stadium and believe, yes, there are better days ahead. Yet it would be crazier than this day to believe that Cashman sitting tight would be the right move for the Yankees.

And yes, this day was crazy. Mickey Callaway, manager of the dysfunctional Mets, sat out Yoenis Cespedes, one day after he returned from the DL, because his heel was sore again, unaware Cespedes had said Friday night he might need surgery that could sideline him for eight months.

Mets closer Jeurys Familia could only sit there Friday and Saturday in the bullpen, watching, waiting for his trade to the A’s to be completed. Familia watched as his Yankees counterpart imploded. After a week off and in a non-save position, Chapman threw 19 pitches, three strikes. He was epically wild in allowing three runs, getting no one out and leaving the bases loaded. Chasen Shreve bailed him big-time.

The tabloids and overheated talk shows will undoubtedly turn to the closer for 24 hours. That’s New York. The story isn’t the closer. It’s the starters. Luis Cessa will replace German for the next start. The hype will continue for No. 1 prospect Justus Sheffield to get a look. Boone’s hope is Gray can build momentum, build trust that could pay off in October.

The only thing Brian Cashman should trust is his ability to get an arm that could beat the Astros and Red Sox and win the World Series.