Three takeaways from the Yankees' series vs. the Athletics

The Yankees beat the Athletics, 12-5,  on Sunday at the Stadium to win the three-game series and earn their third victory in their last four games.

They seem to have turned the page on their  mid-June six-game losing streak but haven’t entirely come around to being as successful as they would like.

The starting pitching has been mostly good but the lineup’s production has been inconsistent. Scoring a dozen runs and hitting four homers on Sunday could be a good omen.

Here are three takeaways from the Yankees’ series against the A’s:

1. The coming stretch is not for the faint of heart

The Yankees have four series remaining before the All-Star break, and all four of them are against teams that would be in the postseason if the season ended today.

This week, they will play four games in Toronto before taking on the Mets in a three-game set at Citi Field. After a day off next Monday, they’ll host the Mariners and Cubs.

It’s not a great time for the Yankees to be operating at less than peak production, but manager Aaron Boone thinks it may bring out a better level of play.

“[You] know there’s some tough moments and some tough times coming for us in these 162 games, so we kind of try and prepare for it all the time,” he said. “You hope they’re smaller, but they’re also a little bit inevitable. It’s important that you stay together, stay with your process, trust your guys [and] trust each other.”

2. The return of Marcus Stroman could be impactful

 Stroman, who earned the win Sunday in his first start since April 11, sounds like a player who has put the left knee inflammation that sidelined him in the rearview mirror.

“It’s out of my head,” he said. “I’m not really concerned in that sense. I know I’ll be good by my next start.”

Stroman arrived a week after Ryan Yarbrough landed on the IL with an oblique strain, so the club needed a spot starter only once through the rotation.

Starting pitching has been the main thing keeping the Yankees in first place. In 42 of their last 60 games, the starters have allowed two or fewer runs. They boast an MLB-best 2.96 ERA in that stretch.

If Stroman’s return means the rotation doesn’t suffer a drop-off, that would be important.

3. Cody Bellinger continues to deliver

Bellinger had three hits, including a three-run blast — his 11th homer of the season — on Sunday. There are a number of Yankees who have been hitting below their norm — Anthony Volpe, DJ LeMahieu and Austin Wells — but Bellinger isn’t one of them. In his last nine games, he has a .421/.436/.658 slash line with two homers, three doubles, six RBIs and three three-hit games.

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.