The Yankees won two out of three against the Astros in a series that was like no other, in an atmosphere that manager Aaron Boone admitted even caught him a little off-guard.
“I was taken aback by it; I knew it would be intense and raucous, but it’s been so long since we’ve had that level, where 15 minutes before game it felt like a playoff game,” Boone said during his weekly appearance on Carton & Roberts on Friday. “The intensity and passion was there non-stop all three games, and it was fun to be in that environment. There are games and series that sometimes take on a bigger meaning, and this was one of those.”
In the series finale, Gerrit Cole was pitching a gem, but came out after seven innings and saw the bullpen give up the lead. Evan Roberts was upset on Thursday’s abbreviated show that no one asked the skipper why Cole didn’t keep going, so he took the first chance he could to do it Friday.
“I just felt like that was enough for him, and having Greeny and Chappy to finish was something we felt good about,” Boone said. “Yesterday was more of a grind for Gerrit, because he didn’t have his overwhelming stuff. He pitched great, but he had to grind. After the sixth inning, we asked if he had one more and he said yes, but we felt pretty comfortable that was it after seven. It’s not just pitch count we look at – that’s a good gauge, but it’s more about workload, and we do also look at things like, we’ve pushed a couple times in a row, let’s not push this one, or the bullpen situation, things like that.”
Not a discussion that Boone and Cole had, although they do talk often.
“He’s someone I do talk with a lot. There are games with him where I am on the fence, and then games where we’re comfortable continuing to turn over the lineup when he’s on his game,” Boone said. “Typically I’ll start to communicate with him in the middle innings, and those conversations can be spirited, but it is pretty easy to communicate with him.”
The Yankees are 4-3 in Cole’s starts, which brings about the discussion similar to Jacob deGrom’s situation where frustration may set in,
“I don’t think he’s frustrated by that, I think he’s just frustrated like we all are – and after losing opening day, 24 hours ago we were 4-1 in his last five,” Boone said. “He’s great at what he does, and he has been such a great pro and great teammate. He’s so invested, so hooked up even in games he’s not pitching – he’ll be sitting behind me asking questions. I love it. He’s the complete package of this massive talent with all the other intangibles. He’s a great teammate who cares about winning, and he’ll do whatever he can to help in any way he can. Sometimes it’s challenging people, and he’s been a lot of fun to be around.”
As far as other things that happened of note in the series, Boone was incredibly impressed with the heads-up play Gleyber Torres made to score from first late in Thursday’s game.
“That was just a special instinctual play. As an infielder, he knows some of the positions you can get into and deficiencies you can fall into, and we work on making sure people are accountable,” Boone said. “Gleyber is acutely aware of those, and showed great instincts – he was right on top of it going to third, but being able to look and process the catcher coming down the line, and glancing to see if there was any movement towards home plate, it was a really special instinctual play. Just indicative of the game he’s playing right now.”
And that’s an indication Boone likes.
“I really like where Gleyber’s at. The talk is that he doesn’t have a home run, but the at-bat quality is there, and he’s delivered in some big spots,” Boone said. “And, since the first home stand, his defense has been excellent too.”
Check out Boone’s entire appearance on Carton & Roberts below!
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