PHILADELPHIA The Yankees have emerged from the trade deadline as the hottest team in baseball. A road trip that began in devastating fashion Friday night in Boston, when they served up their latest candidate for worst lo s of the year to fall further into a 10-23 skid, finished with a resurgence. It was culminated by a sweep of the team that began the series with the best record in baseball, as the Yankees beat the Phillies 6-5 for their fifth straight win on Wednesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. DJ LeMahieu leads the Yankees to a win over the Phillies on July 31, 2024. AP Were playing well, we know were good, manager Aaron Boone said. When we play well, we can beat anyone. But the past is the past and the reality is weve got two months of baseball to hopefully put us in position to play for something meaningful in October. You keep the blinders on and keep going. But definitely when you win a day game [on a] getaway day to get a sweep against a club like that into an off day, thats one of those good feelings in a baseball season. DJ LeMahieu, who has e sentially been relegated to reserve duty, by putting together his biggest game of the season, driving in all six runs a new career-high with a grand slam and a two-run double. Explore More That staked the Yankees (65-45) to a 6-3 lead before they hung on late as the Phillies (65-43) chipped away at the deficit. Nestor Cortes had a solid start for Yankees on July 31, 2024. AP Tommy Kahnle escaped a seventh-inning jam when Alex Verdugo caught Austin Hays fly ball to left field while banging into the wall before Mark Leiter Jr. who allowed a run on a one-hopper to the right side that Gleyber Torres likely should have turned into an out left the bases loaded with a strikeout of Brandon Marsh. Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+. Andre Roberson Jersey Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Then Clay Holmes, who fell victim to soft contact Tuesday night while blowing a one-run lead in the ninth inning of a , survived the ninth. He gave up a leadoff single to Kyle Schwarber, but got Hays to fly out to the warning track and Bryce Harper to ground into a double play to end it. Clay Holmes celebrates with Carlos Narvaez after beating the Phillies on Wednesday. Getty Images The Yankees returned to 20 games over .500 for the first time since they were 54-34 on July 3, and remained a half-game back of the Orioles for first place in the AL East with Tuesdays trade deadline now in the rearview mirror. I liked what we had before we made the moves and I know weve improved since these moves, GM Brian Cashman said shortly before first pitch Wednesday. I think we have a really good team already and it will get better over the course of time when certain guys come back from the IL. And then think with the imports too we got better. While Chisholm and Leiter as external additions, the Yankees have seen internal improvements from their non-Aaron Judge/Juan Soto hitters lately that would be a huge boost if they can sustain it. DJ LeMahieu gets congratulated by Yankees teammates on July 31, 2024. AP New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton hits a single during the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con That was headlined by LeMahieu on Wednesday, but also included Giancarlo Stanton picking up his first two hits in his second game back from the IL. The Yankees also got a bounce-back performance from Nestor Cortes, who spent the days leading up to his start trying to block out the noise from his name being involved in trade discu sions. The left-hander retired the first nine batters he faced on the way to his best start since July 5. He entered the game having allowed 15 runs acro s 13 / innings in his last three starts, but limited the Phillies to three runs acro s 5 / innings. DJ LeMahieu and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hug after the close win over the Phillies on Wednesday. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con I think the stretch was pretty long, but I think it was only a matter of time where we were going to turn it on again, Cortes said. We have a special group here. Feel like we got better after the trade deadline. I think its up to the starters now to put up good starts and keep rolling with that because when we were at our best, our starters were going long and giving good opportunities for our hitters to come around. Thats who we are. James Harden Jersey