Yankees last two extra-inning thrillers a preview of whats to come in October
Star these last two games.Circle them.
These are the kinds of circumstances you find yourself in when the calendar flips to October.Late innings.
Extra innings.Make a pitch.
Make a play.Win a game.
Electrify a crowd.This is how it happens in October.This is how it goes.
Teams die hard.The Royals on Wednesday and the Red Sox on Thursday, they needed these games like oxygen.
The Royals are trying to go from 106 losses to the playoffs.The Red Sox are trying to get hot at the right time, collect wins, tip-toe into the postseason.These aren’t spoilers, saving their best solely to do mean things to the Yankees without any skin in the games themselves.
The Yankees? Sure, they needed these games, too.They want to beat out the Orioles, avoid the play-in, get ready for a best-of-five without bothering with a best-of-three.
They have a cushion.They can’t afford to play that way.These last two nights, they didn’t.
Wednesday, they tied the Royals in the bottom of the 10th, held them in the top of the 11th, then sent 2-3-4 up in the bottom.That’s a tall task for anyone.
Juan Soto moved the ghost runner to third.The Royals passed Aaron Judge.
And Jazz Chisholm Jr.hit one that Bobby Witt Jr.
could only stop.Yankees win, 4-3.Thursday, they held the Sox in the 10th, set up 2-3-4 in the bottom.
Still a tall task for anyone, always a tall task.This time Soto took care of it himself, a line drive just under Trevor Story’s glove.
Aaron Boone had smartly used Jon Berti as the ghost runner.He scampered home.
Yankees win, 2-1.“Another great ending,” Boone said.“It’s that time of year.”It’s that time, all right.
The games are going to look like this up and down October.They are going to be tied in the seventh, tied in the eighth, tied in the ninth.
There’ll be extra innings.Make a pitch.
Make a play.Win a game.It’s good to develop this kind of muscle memory.
It’s good to figure out a way.Not everyone is the ’27 Yankees, or the ’61 Yankees, ...