MLB WORLD SERIES: YANKEES VS DODGERS

October 26, 2024

Aaron Boone

Dodger Stadium

New York Yankees

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Dodgers - 4, Yankees - 2

Q. With the exception of the Soto home run, Yamamoto kept the offense completely quiet, retiring 11 straight to close it out there. What made him so effective?

AARON BOONE: I thought the first few innings we took a lot of good at-bats against him, made him work some longer at-bats. Then kind of once he got a little bit of that lead, he kind of got into a rhythm, really did a good job of attacking at strike one. It was hard to be patient with him when he was on the attack and getting ahead.

I thought his stuff was good. I thought his fastball was good, slowing us down with a little curveball, and then the slider and the split of course. I thought he was on his game.

Q. What did you see from Rodón? Obviously hurt by the long ball today.

AARON BOONE: I thought Rodo had good stuff. Kind of looking at the homers there, we talk about this Dodger team being really good in leverage when they get ahead in the count. I think the Edman -- what was that, 2-0 maybe, the homer. Teoscar got him 1-0, and then the 3-2 to Freddie.

Freddie put a pretty good swing on that ball that was a little on the inner half, and I thought he elevated it pretty good.

Teoscar maybe missed a spot by a hair but still had life on it at the top. They just were able to get to it in favorable counts.

Q. What was your vantage point on what happened with Ohtani at second base?

AARON BOONE: I don't know. I just -- I obviously saw him walking off holding his arm, but that's all. I don't know.

Q. What are your big takeaways from this game in terms of things to build on or potentially improve on in Game 3? What are the big things you're thinking about?

AARON BOONE: In a game where we really got shut down there in the middle innings, our compete to the very end was really good. We gave ourselves a chance to get right back in it and even win that game off a very good reliever. I loved the at-bats there at the end, the compete, the fight. I thought even Trevy got off a good swing off Vesia.

No one said it's going to be easy. It's a long series, and we need to make it a long series now. We won't flinch. We've just got to keep at it.

Q. Judge has expanded the zone more often than he did in the regular season. Do you feel like he's pressing at the plate?

AARON BOONE: It's just about getting in a good position. When you get into that good -- and everyone's different in how they do it. You get in that strong position, that load where then the swing decisions follow that.

So I think he's kind of working through that. Once that happens, it happens like that.

Q. When you say get in a good position, is it a mechanical thing you're seeing?

AARON BOONE: It always can be a little bit of a mechanical thing when guys go through a little funk. When they're just easily getting into their move and firing, then that's when you make your best swing decisions.

Q. Is it swing decisions on him, do you think? It's been -- I think strikeouts in almost half his at-bats this postseason.

AARON BOONE: Look, I think swing decisions are part of it. I think everyone's different in how they get loaded and started and on time, and then your swing comes out. It's that, and that all results -- when I was asked about Anthony, what's different about him in the playoffs, he's getting into a good move, and now he's in a strong position to make good swing decisions.

That's ultimately what hitting is about, it's getting in the best position to make a good swing decision but also be in a strong position to get a good swing off. Everyone's different in how they do that, and I think he's working through that a little bit right now.