Perhaps it was nothing more than a one-night spin in the time machine. 

After all, it had been nearly four years since DJ LeMahieu enjoyed a four-hit game before Sunday night at Dodger Stadium. 

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But this one came on the heels of an 0-for-15 skid and on the verge of Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s return from the injured list, which will leave just one infield spot up for grabs for LeMahieu and others to prove they are deserving of the at-bats.

And it included two balls hit off the bat at over 100 mph, both to the opposite field in classic LeMahieu fashion. 

So at the very least it was something. 

The Yankees don’t need the 36-year-old LeMahieu to be his former batting champion self, but some version of that would be a welcome presence to more consistently lengthen an already deep lineup. 

“We’ve had pretty good length, but to get some production there at the bottom would be enormous,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees flew home. 

In 15 games since returning from the injured list for a calf strain that cost him the first six weeks of the season, LeMahieu has hit .239 (11-for-46) with a .640 OPS while playing a quality second base.

His average exit velocity is 91.8 mph, which he has not hit over the course of a full season since 2019. 

While the rest of his teammates have had a much larger sample size of at-bats to get into a groove, LeMahieu is still working to find his. 

“I feel good,” LeMahieu said. “I feel like I had enough time to prepare to get going. But that doesn’t mean the adjustments stop and it’s there. So keep going. The game and the pitchers tell you what you need to work on. Just trying to keep getting better.” 

LeMahieu’s return came while Chisholm was on the IL, allowing the veteran to slide into his most comfortable position at second base.

Chisholm is now expected to move to third base, a position he learned on the fly last summer and where he played his two games in the field on his rehab assignment before his expected activation on Tuesday. 

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“I’m just excited to have him back,” LeMahieu said. “Wherever the pieces fit.” 

Boone has declined to get into full detail on his reasoning for having Chisholm make the switch to third instead of LeMahieu.

Teams typically value having their most athletic players up the middle, but in this case the Yankees are banking on Chisholm’s athleticism helping him at third. 

This may also not be a permanent solution because the Yankees are still trying to figure out what LeMahieu has left in the tank.

But now is the time to give him the runway to find out in the two months left before the trade deadline, when the Yankees could address third or second depending on how LeMahieu is faring. 

“Really happy for him,” Boone said after LeMahieu went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs to help the Yankees salvage the series finale against the Dodgers. “Just thought we got really good production at the bottom [of the order] with DJ putting a lot of good at-bats together today, [Oswald] Peraza had some good at-bats down there, too. But yeah, happy for DJ having a hand right in the center of things.” 

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To make room for Chisholm on the active roster, the Yankees could either option Jorbit Vivas to Triple-A or designate Pablo Reyes for assignment. 

Peraza had a handful of big hits during the West Coast road trip while continuing to play sharp defense at third base. His playing time will likely take a hit with Chisholm’s return, though he remains an option whenever the Yankees want to have their best gloves on the infield. 

But LeMahieu, who still has one year and $15 million left on his contract after this season, figures to get the bulk of the playing time in the coming weeks to try to prove there is more where Sunday’s performance came from. 

“It was just good to get the win, that’s really what I was focused on, especially after the last couple days,” LeMahieu said. “More than anything, getting that win [Sunday] and going home and ready to get rolling again.”