AL DIVISION SERIES: GUARDIANS VS YANKEES

October 11, 2022

Aaron Boone

Yankee Stadium

New York Yankees

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Yankees - 4, Guardians -1

Q. You had a good chance to shuffle around your bullpen tonight to mix-and-match in those situations. What was the behind the whole strategy of it? And obviously you won, so you have to feel good about it, but is this what we're going to be looking forward to throughout the playoffs?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, I mean, it's all hands on deck, and everyone is going to have to play an important role on a given night. You know, coming in and getting a big double play, getting us out of an inning there, getting us out of a jam. Obviously Wandy coming in and being real efficient going through that lefty lane. And then Clay, really good to get him back out there. I thought he threw the ball really well. Hits the first guy. Just had to check on my heart (laughter) and I thought he threw the ball really well to finish off a really well-pitched night.

Q. Terry Francona just said that he thought early on they would have gotten the pitch count up with Gerrit Cole. What's your opinion on how he settled down, particularly after the home run?

AARON BOONE: I thought Gerrit was really good. I thought his breaking ball was really good. I thought he was unpredictable. I thought he did a good job of mixing pitches. The one big-time jam that he got in, you know, he's able to make some huge pitches to get out of the inning.

You know, I thought we gave them a couple free bases there in the first couple innings, but really got really good defensively as the game wore on and made some really good plays behind him. But I thought did a really good job of, you know, kind of owning the moment, being unpredictable, and I thought his breaking ball was really, really on point tonight.

And then the few times he was backed into a corner, he made some pitches.

Q. Following up, Tito said he thought the fourth inning was quick, eight pitches, kind of settled Gerrit down. Did you see it that way, too?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, no question. What was he, at 60 through three? I mean, yeah, you've got to -- at some point, if you're going to get deeper into the game -- early on it looked like, man, let's hope he can get through five. And to pitch into the sixth, seventh inning there was huge, and that fourth inning went a long way in helping that out.

Q. Just another question on Gerrit. How much did that strikeout with Gimenez in the third change everything for him moving forward?

AARON BOONE: I don't know that it changed. I just thought he executed and that may be the at-bat of the game right there. He was in some trouble there, and kept making pitches. You know, that was good to see him go out in the first Yankee home game in front of fans in the postseason and deliver that kind of performance.

Q. You left some wiggle room before announcing him as the Game 1 starter. What told you he was the right guy for this moment?

AARON BOONE: It was more a product of how well Nestor and Sevey looked. I just wanted to not just race out to it. So there wasn't much to it other than me wanting to think about it a little bit, talk to some people, see what the best way to line it up was.

So I was kind of going Gerrit the whole time, but wanted to at least sit on it for a minute.

Q. On Donaldson, how much do you understand him getting caught up in the moment there and not running, and how much, especially given the few times you talked to him during the season on similar things, that you're angry and puzzled by?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, I mean, it's a unique one down that line like that. You're kind of body-languaging it. I haven't even seen the play yet because I was getting out of the way of some people to see where -- because I thought it was a home run off the bat. So I have got to look at it a little bit better. If he's getting it right away, is it an automatic double with -- you know, her ain't the fleetest of foot. So we have to make sure we're getting where we need to get to.

So I'm glad it didn't end up hurting us.

Q. Harrison came into a potentially awkward situation originally when he got here, popular teammate is traded and he comes in in a walking boot. How did he handle that? Was it uncomfortable at first, or on a personal level, ingratiating himself with teammates in the process?

AARON BOONE: I didn't sense that. Obviously a local kid that grew up a Yankee fan, I thought right away he endeared himself to us. He's an outgoing guy. Right away I could tell he was really excited to be here. I think he was aware and had some levity to the situation, like understanding what you said. We traded a popular teammate and I show up in a walking boot; he kind of made light of that. But we also knew we were getting a really good player.

Obviously big home run there to get it started tonight, coupled with obviously what he brings in the outfield.

Q. Is there more significance to winning a Game 1 in a five-game series, as opposed to the usual seven games?

AARON BOONE: Got to win three in this series. So however you get there. You want to rack them up when you can. So I guess it's one less to win than in seven games, so maybe a little more significant. But look, it's hard to win playoff games. It's certainly really good to get the first one at home.

Q. Kiner-Falefa had ups and downs this year and to make that error right out of the gate and recover from that and make some nice plays, how good was it to see him calm himself down after that play?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, really good, and that's what he's done all year when he has made that error. He bounces back really well. You know, obviously then gets a big, big hit in the corner to set us up. So yeah, it was good that he got more chances and kind of bounced back from it.

I'm not sure he gets Rosario anyway on that ball up the middle, and I think that kind of went into it because he's trying to get that quick transfer going. But, yeah, it was really good to see him answer a little bit of adversity that we are all going to face over hopefully what's a few weeks of baseball here, just like the regular season, and it happens within these games and he answered the bell.