MLB playoffs 2018: How a positive Yankees message helped Gary Sanchez break out vs. Red Sox in ALDS

Yankees hitting coach Marcus Thames has kept by catcher Gary Sanchez’s side, keeping him positive, and it helped in a two-homer breakout as New York beat the Red Sox, 6-2 in Game 2 of the AL Division Series on Saturday.

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NEW YORK — Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez and hitting coach Marcus Thames work together every day. They talk all the time. Sometimes Thames is as much of a therapist as he is an instructor to the 25-year-old.

Lately, Thames has served heaping amounts of positivity to Sanchez.

“Even though he was hitting .180 at the end of the year,” Thames told NJ Advance Media, “I told him at the end of the season, ‘That’s over. People are going to remember what you do in October.'”

They’re definitely not going to forget when he did Saturday night.

Is Sanchez Yankees’ catcher of the future?

Sanchez blasted two home runs in a 6-2 win over the Red Sox in Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Fenway Park. The victory evened the series with Game 3 happening in the Bronx on Monday following Sunday’s off day.

Sanchez rocked a solo shot to start the second inning off starting pitcher David Price, who lasted just 1 2/3 innings.

In the seventh, Sanchez launched a three-run blast that went — get this — 479 feet. That’s the longest postseason home run since 2015, when MLB’s Statcast started tracking them.

It hasn’t been all good for Sanchez this year.

After a monster 2017 in which he hit 33 homers and hit .278, he finished this regular season with a 1.86 batting average and just 18 bombs. He had two lengthy disabled list stints, led the MLB in passed balls for the second straight year and faced questions over whether he should be the Yankees’ postseason starter.

Amid it all, Thames has kept by his side, keeping Sanchez on track.

“I talked to him before,” Thames said. “I said, ‘Don’t chase results. Just chase quality at-bats.’ He’s had the confidence. … Every single day he comes in, he’s positive, he gets his work in, and he goes to the plate ready to do damage. Right now, he’s in a good place. I just try to tell him, ‘Don’t try to do too much. Just be Gary.’ And Gary is a pretty good hitter.”

How often have this conversations happened?

“Every day,” Thames said. “Just kind of keep reminding him, keep him positive, keep giving him positive advice. Hopefully he can get out of the rut he was in. But as a staff, as a whole, we believe in him. This is a guy who hit 33 (home runs) and 90 (RBI) last year and missed a month. You know he has the equipment as a player. Just have to keep him positive, keep running him out there and eventually he’s going to do what he’s doing now.”

Via the team’s Spanish-language translator, Sanchez said keeping a positive mindset has been key.

“I always stayed positive throughout the whole season,” he said. “I know it was a rough season for me. It was a tough one. But you know that’s the regular season, and that’s done. We’re done with that. Now we’re playing the really exciting baseball. So to have an opportunity now to keep on playing and produce at this time it’s actually more important.”

Maybe if Sanchez wants to keep this up, Thames should charge him by the hour.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.