New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is trying to stay even-keeled as his team hopes to overturn an 0-2 deficit in the American League Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Following Sunday’s 13-7 loss in Game 2, Boone called baseball a “funny game” where the complexion of a postseason series can shift dramatically.
“There’s been a lot of weird things that have happened in baseball this year,” he said. “This would not be the weirdest, us rallying.”
The Blue Jays hammered the Yankees 10-1 in Game 1 and then jumped out to a 12-run lead by the end of the fifth inning on Sunday. It’s tough to picture a way the first two contests could’ve gone worse for New York.
Boone’s postgame remarks didn’t amount to a passionate rallying cry, which is what fans of the Bronx Bombers probably want to hear right now. However, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal argued things aren’t a bad as they appear.
“A win by Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón over Blue Jays righty Shane Bieber in Game 3 would put the Jays in a difficult spot, trying to close out a potential Game 4 with a bullpen game against red-hot Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler,” Rosenthal wrote. “Gausman would return for a potential Game 5 in Toronto against Yankees lefty Max Fried, who has a 9.42 ERA in three starts at Rogers this season after pitching three innings Sunday and getting rocked for seven runs. At this point, the Yankees would welcome that winner-take-all problem.”
Of course, a message of “hey, weirder things have happened” is the kind of thing that will look worse if the Yanks go out and lay an egg on Tuesday night. Especially with how little life they showed in the first two games, people might start to wonder whether Boone is still able to motivate his players and strike the right chords ahead of big occasions.
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