AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES VS ASTROS

October 19, 2022

Aaron Boone

Minute Maid Park

New York Yankees

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Houston Astros - 4, New York Yankees - 2

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with questions for Aaron Boone.

Q. What did you like about Clarke Schmidt coming in to relieve Jameson?

AARON BOONE: I just felt like it was a little bit of a grind for J-Mo there. I thought he competed awesome, made some pitches when he really needed to. He did a good job of limiting damage. But I just felt like I was kind of in a hitter-to-hitter mode and then Clarke comes in and does a really good job of obviously getting the double play ball to get us out of the inning, then just made some two-strike mistakes with the bottom of the order there in that next inning that kind of cost him.

Q. Verlander kept the bats pretty quiet through 6. What made him so good tonight?

AARON BOONE: I thought early we had our chances. I don't think he was real sharp early, but then he kind of dialed it in. He started really executing, staying away from trouble. I thought he spun the ball really well.

Again, we feel like we were on the verge of kind of breaking through there early against him and just couldn't quite do it, then he kind of settled in in those middle innings and pitched really well.

Q. In Carpenter's first start in a while, four strikeouts, did he look okay to you?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, tough matchup, right? You got obviously Verlander, who is actually tougher on lefties, as great as he is, and even Pressly there. So it's a tough draw. Hopefully valuable for him to just get some regular at-bats within the course of a game that serves him and us well kind of moving forward. We know what he can provide for us off the bench or when there's those DH starts for us. So hopefully a tough night is something that can benefit us moving forward.

Q. Are you encouraged by what you're seeing from Stanton? He thumped the ball twice tonight and also he made that catch out there in left in his first time out there in months?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, it was a great play in left. Off the bat, I'm like, no way, and then he makes the play. So that was really good to see him moving around.

Yeah, I thought he had good at-bats all night. I thought even the ball up the middle, I think they gave it an error, probably could have been a hit too. So, yeah, more good, G's locked in up there in the fight, and definitely encouraging.

Q. I would never suggest you were not trying to win a game, but were you trying to win a game where you essentially are stealing a game. You're not using your A relievers. You're trying to find out some stuff about guys who haven't played in certain places or at all for awhile?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, I mean, you're hoping to carve out some roles for guys and obviously we're in a situation with what we just went through where the guys we've leaned on heavily are going to be more in winning situations late tonight.

So we knew it was going to be a slog kind of getting through those middle innings. It was good to see Clarke come in in some traffic in as tough a situation as you can be in in the middle of their lineup and get through it. But then the two-strike mistakes hurt him.

Frankie hangs the breaking ball to Peña there. The good thing about it is he answered right back with the heart of their order and I thought executed well.

Then to get Castro in there and have him throw the ball the way he did, that's, I thought he was really sharp. So that's encouraging because, look, obviously it's going to take more than just a few. Trevino was great too. I kept him shorter. But it's going to take more than just a few to get through all of this.

Tonight we knew we had our guys shorter and we're going to have to get to the back end to set them up.

Q. Was Germán in your calculations tonight at all?

AARON BOONE: I mean, he's in the calculations every night, yeah, I mean, but more of a lengthy role and if I needed something early there. And there's going to come a time where he's going to need to be in there in an important spot in a shorter way, but didn't feel like tonight was that.

Q. He hasn't pitched since October 5, I believe, that last day of the regular season. Why has it been hard to get him in and has he been healthy the whole time?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, he's healthy. He's our length.

Q. Just hasn't been an opportunity?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, and obviously we've leaned on, between Wandy and Clay and Lo and Trevino a lot, and for the most part, our starting pitchers have pitched us pretty deep into games.

Q. Is this Astros pitching staff top to bottom the toughest to face that they have had in the time that you've been in the job?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, I mean, they're obviously really dynamic. Outstanding starting pitching, but can shorten the game with the best of 'em. So we got to find a way to break through against 'em. It's a challenge, but one we're, we look forward to.

Q. What did you see from Donaldson and is there anything that may suggest to you that he may be banged up physically offensively?

AARON BOONE: No. No, I thought he was on some pitches tonight. I thought he had a little bit of a wide zone there. I thought he had a really good at-bat to, as the tying run there in his last at-bat, laying off some really tough pitches, which is not easy so to do, especially after you've punched a few times, to have the nerve to stay in there and really battled a 3-2 and then take a close pitch.

I mean, you're going up against the best right now. They got him a couple times tonight, but he's in the fight.

Q. To see Judge lay out the way he did on that catch in the first inning, what does that say about him as a player and in particularly about his commitment on the defensive side of the ball?

AARON BOONE: Well, he's a great player, he's a great defender, he's a great right fielder. I had a really good view of it, kind of my site line was, had the ball with, I could see him in my periphery like closing on it, and at first I thought, oh, double, and then I kind of see him close on it and knowing, man, he's got a chance and he's able to layout. And he's just a really good athlete that takes a lot of pride on that side of the ball. That's nothing new for him.

Q. What have you seen thus far from, on the other side from Jeremy Peña, who had a big hit tonight and has continued to come up really big for this team in October as a rookie?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, I mean, he's stepped in and been an impact player for 'em. He gets, like, a breaking ball like he got tonight, he's done a good job with those all year where that strike breaking ball you miss with it, he can do damage with it. But he stepped in some big shoes and played an important role for 'em.