Aaron Boone pushes right bullpen buttons in crunch time for Yankees

KANSAS CITY, Mo.— Aaron Boone fit the jigsaw puzzle together just right.Four relief pitchers combined to get the final 13 outs Wednesday and allow the score to stay tied long for Giancarlo Stanton’s go-ahead home run to give the Yankees a 3-2 win over the Royals in Game 3 of the ALDS.A dash of great defense didn’t hurt, either.Of the 13 outs that the bullpen recorded, only one was via strikeout — a testament both to what makes the Royals such a scrappy opponent and to the surprisingly effective defense the Yankees have played despite having guys out of position all across the diamond.The Yankees had the sixth-best bullpen ERA (3.62) during the regular season despite a cycle of moving parts, but a case could be made that the group has never been stronger than now.

Neither of the two relievers acquired at the trade deadline is on the ALDS roster because others got healthy.Luke Weaver, who has become near-automatic since taking over the role in September, retired the final five batters and worked an anticlimactic ninth inning.Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.

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Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! The Royals’ last gasp hope to cause disruption, pinch hitter Tommy Pham, grounded out on the first pitch of the final at-bat.Weaver has saved both Yankees wins — two one-run games — in this series, and with two days off in between, he should be fresh if there is a chance to close out the series Thursday.Demoted closer Clay Holmes — being used in an important role to clean up mid-inning messes in the playoffs a la David Robertson of years gone by — got maybe the biggest out when he stranded runners on the corners after the Royals scored two in the fifth inning.

He induced a fly out to center from Vinnie Pasquantino on his second straight...