Rizzo’s back, Hicks is healthy, Judge is playing for a contract…but the winning formula for the Yankees on Opening Day was, apparently, three newcomers and a guy who wasn’t even supposed to be here today.
Two of the first three were, of course, Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the latter scoring on the former’s walk-off single in the 11th inning to cap off their first games as Yankees with a big victory.
“I mean it’s huge early on, to help my team win the game. But it was so much more than me, our guys did a great job today,” Donaldson told YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits on the field immediately after the walk-off. “We’re resilient. We have a good ball club. We went out there and played hard, went to extras and got the job done. Nobody was fazed. We knew we could get the job done, it was just a matter of time.”
Kiner-Falefa was 0-for-5 on the day, but took second base in the 11th inning as the “Manfred Man,” the automatic runner on base in extras. Donaldson, hitting leadoff for just the eighth time in his career, was just 1-for-5 himself, but it all added up when his seeing-eye single up the middle brought home IKF for the Yankees’ first walk-off Opening Day win in 65 years.
“I don’t worry about him in that regard, but it’s always nice to deliver in the clutch,” Boone said of Donaldson. “I thought he had some really good at-bats today and finished off with a good one there. That’s gotta be a great feeling to come over and walk it off in that setting – Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, extra innings against the rival Red Sox.”
“The energy in the stadium, the atmosphere, was pretty electric,” Donaldson added. “It doesn’t get any bigger than this right here. It’s a good feeling to be in an environment where there’s an expectation to win. It’s always fun playing in these types of games.”
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A true Yankee moment for a guy who wasn’t even here a month ago?
“I’m sure there’s a level to that, you want to ingratiate yourself into your new town, the fans…but the way JD is, I don’t worry about him like that,” Boone said. “Whether he comes through in that spot or not, I don’t worry about him. He’s here to beat you.”
“The walk-off is going to stick out, but I think the team win, the team resiliency, is going to lead to good things in the future. I couldn’t ask for much more than that,” Donaldson added.
Donaldson also started a 5-4-3 10th inning-ending double play that set it up for the other guys: G & G.
Gleyber Torres was the odd man out of the Yankees’ lineup on Opening Day, but Boone knew he would be ready if called upon – and indeed he was, coming up with the bases loaded and one out in the 10th, with the Yankees down 5-4, as a pinch-hitter for Kyle Higashioka.
The result? Gleyber battled through the shadows, and back from an 0-2 count, to foul off a tough pitch and then rap a sacrifice fly that kept the game going – one that scored Marwin Gonzalez, who made his Yankees debut as the automatic extra-innings runner, pinch-running for Giancarlo Stanton.
“I’m sure today was a really tough day for him, but I knew he’d be prepared and he was,” Boone said of Torres. “There were a couple situations he was almost in there in different scenarios, but he was ready to go. Down 0-2, shadows on the field, first at-bat of the year with everything on the line, he did a good job of sticking his nose in there and getting a piece of it.”
Boone also knew that “the last couple days were probably not easy at all” for Torres after he found out he wouldn’t be in the lineup), but Gleyber was able to settle his emotions, and he came through in the biggest spot of the game.
“The first thing, I was mad, but I got one night to (come to terms with it),” Torres said. “I just want to do the right thing for my team. I feel like I’m prepared every time for those situations and thank God, I got an opportunity to do something.”
Gleyber almost pinch hit for Higgy in the eighth but Boone liked the matchup – “and we weren’t totally up against it yet,” he noted – but, even with a three-man bench, the skipper was confident burning two players with one move because of the versatility of Kiner-Falefa, who caught 73 games for Texas in 2018-19.
“With a three-man bench, you want to be certain when you start shooting guys in those situations,” Boone said, “but yeah, that versatility definitely helps.”
And, while it was those four who accounted for the tying and walk-off runs, it was indeed a total team effort for the Yankees, who needed all 20 guys that got in the game to get it done.
“Just a fun game to be a part of. Guys competed hard all day, and it’s an example that it’s not always going to be perfect,” Boone said. “Rough start, but Gerrit settled in, we got back in it, and from there it was a well-played game. A lot of guys contributed and had a role on a day where it didn’t start out great.”
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