Look at the last two games. Circle them. As the calendar turns to October, this is what happens. Late innings. Extra innings. Pitches. Plays. Winning games. Making the crowd go wild.
That's what happens in October. That's how it is. Teams fight like hell. The Royals on Wednesday and the Red Sox on Thursday needed these games like oxygen. The Royals are trying to make the playoffs after 106 losses. The Red Sox are trying to get going at the right time, rack up wins and sneak into the postseason.
These aren't spoiler teams that are saving their best just to spite the Yankees, without any benefit to the game itself. The Yankees? Of course they needed these games. They want to beat the Orioles, avoid the play-in, and be ready for a best-of-five without having to worry about a best-of-three. They can afford it. They can't afford to play like that.
They didn't do that the last two nights. On Wednesday, they tied the Royals in the bottom of the 10th, held them in the top of the 11th, then went 2-3-4 in the bottom of the inning, which is a tough task for anyone. Juan Soto advanced a ghost runner to third base. The Royals passed on Aaron Judge. And Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a hit that only Bobby Witt Jr. could stop. The Yankees won, 4-3.
On Thursday, they held off the Red Sox in the bottom of the 10th, playing a 2-3-4 lineup. It's always a tough task for anyone. This time, Soto did it himself. The liner went right under Trevor Story's glove. Manager Aaron Boone wisely used Jon Berti as a ghost runner. Berti raced home. The Yankees won, 2-1.
“Another great ending,” Boone said. “It's that time of year again.”
The time has come. Games will look like this throughout the month of October. Tie in the 7th, tie in the 8th, tie in the 9th. Extra innings. Pitch, make plays, win games.
It's good to develop that muscle memory. It's good to figure out how to do it. Not everyone beat the best teams like the 1927 Yankees or the 1961 Yankees. Not everyone beat the best teams like the 1998 Yankees. The Yankees were dominant then, but they certainly knew how to win games like this, probably better than any team has ever done it.
“Every single day seems more and more important,” Boone said before the game. “What I do know is we have as good a chance as anybody to win this game.”
He's been mocked all year for this dreamy declaration, and every night he's liable to burst into Monty Python-style singing. “Always look on the bright side of life…”
Lots of whistling.
But you know what? He was right then. And he's especially right now. Feel free to name an American League team you fear right now. Feel free to name a team the Yankees want to avoid at all costs in the playoffs. Maybe no one else fears them, but that's the point.
They have as good a chance as anyone. They're getting used to winning games they need to win. The old reliables won overtime games for the second night in a row. Want more? Even a couple of regulars who looked like they might get voted out of October Island were great on Thursday. Nestor Cortes had five runs and Clay Holmes had two shutouts in the 10th inning.
Are the Red Sox the Red Sox we remember? No. But then again, the Yankees. The 2003-2004 battle was as relevant today as it was in 1903-1904. It's good to reminisce fondly, and Boone agrees.
“I'm a sports fan,” he said Thursday, “and there are moments in sports where you remember where you were and you have a story attached to it. It's great to hear intimate, memorable stories about it from people of all walks of life over the years.”
You know what's even better? A win like the one Boone hit for his immortal home run off a knuckle shot from the late Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of Yankees 6-Red Sox 5 on Oct. 16, 2003. Games like Wednesday and Thursday are great rehearsals for the tasks that come in the coming weeks: pitching, making plays.
Win the game.
