Yankee fans have likely spent much of this season gnawing at their fingernails as games reach the ninth inning, staring longingly at the nearest reminder of when Mariano Rivera used to trot out from beyond the outfield wall.
The comedown from the Rivera era wasn’t too harsh thanks to the trio of Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller, but this year, no win has seemed to come easy.
No matter how many times the Yankees go through a pressure-packed ninth inning, most recently Tuesday’s 5-4 thriller, it doesn’t get any easier to deal with.
“It’s part of the gig,” Boone laughed after Wandy Peralta forced Freddie Freeman to fly out and strand the bases loaded in another narrow victory. “I’m getting used to them.”
The Yanks must be used to tense finishes by now, as they have played in more one and two-run games than any other team in the league this season. There have been some crippling losses along the way, but the Bombers continue to show an ability to overcome defeats that, as Boone previously admitted, could have derailed the season.
The Yankees have now won 11 in a row, and seven of those victories have come with a margin of victory of one or two runs. It’s almost becoming an undesirable habit, though it is one that could help prepare the team for when the intensity cranks up even further in the playoffs, which the Yanks suddenly seemed destined to reach.
“In October, you’re not gonna have those games where it’s 11-3 or 10-2, it’s gonna be a 5-4 ballgame, 3-2 ballgame,” Aaron Judge said. “I feel like 90 percent of the games we play are one-run games, but there’s no panic. If stuff starts hitting the fan and things aren’t going our way in the eighth or ninth, the guys have no panic. Someone steps up to make a play and gets us out of it.”
Judge was close by in center field when Freeman lifted a deep fly ball to left that was chased down by Joey Gallo to secure the 5-4 win, after Aroldis Chapman had faltered with a 5-3 advantage to start the bottom of the ninth. But despite all the brutally creative ways that the Yankees have managed to lose close games this year, the desire to be the one to come up big remains, which perhaps has played a part in overcoming those losses with even more wins in similar spots.
“I want the ball hit to me,” Judge said. “I want to make a pay out there. I kind of wanted to make a diving play to end it…we were all dialed in. I kept looking at Joey, kept looking at [Giancarlo Stanton], and we were just smiling. We all knew what the outcome was gonna be, we just didn’t know how we were gonna get there.
“You live for those moments when the crowd is going crazy, it’s do-or-die, ninth inning, bases loaded, you love those moments. They don’t get easier, but you enjoy every single one of them.”
If that’s the case, then the Yankees have had plenty of enjoyment this year. They would likely prefer to win more comfortably as the teams of the Rivera era did, but maybe this is what gets the team the most prepared for October baseball. They’re just preparing the hard way.
“I don’t think it ever gets easier,” Judge said. “It’s baseball, you never know what’s gonna happen next. You don’t know if this next guy is gonna come up and hit a three-run homer and you’re walking off the field, or is he gonna hit a ground ball for a double play and you’re out of the game. This team is prepared for everything.
“It might be a little easier because we’ve been there before. We’ve seen all the outcomes. The good, the bad, and everything in between. Nothing surprises us at this point. But we have total faith in the guys that go out there and take the ball.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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