Ahead of Saturday's Game 1 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Blue Jays, manager Aaron Boone spoke about a number of topics…
Latest on Cody Bellinger
One development from last night's Game 3 win in the Wild Card series was the health of Bellinger. The Yankees outfielder was visibly limping coming out of the box in his final at-bat Thursday, and although he finished the game in the outfield, there was some concern.Bellinger said after the game that he expects to be readyfor Saturday's Game 1, but Boone was asked about his player in his media availability on Friday."He should be okay," Boone said of Bellinger's ailment. "He bruised his heel. Yeah, we think he should be good to go."Boone said that Bellinger reaggravated his bruised heel when he ran for home and scored the first run in the fourth inning of Game 3.
"Just kind of jammed his heel a little bit when he was rounding third," Boone explained. "He should be all right. He should be good to go."
Bellinger has been great for the Yankees in his first season in pinstripes. He batted. 272 with 29 home runs and drove in 98 runs while playing plus-defense in left field. In the three-game series with the Red Sox, Bellinger went 3-for-12 with a double, a walk and two runs.
Improved infield defense
The last time the Yankees were in Toronto, they were swept in their four-game series, allowing the Blue Jays to overtake them in the AL East. In seven games in Toronto this season, the Yankees made 11 errors that led to eight unearned runs. Those gaffes led some in the Toronto market to criticize how the Yankees play.
Boone was asked how much better he feels his infield defense is since they were last in Toronto and the Yankees skipper was confident it would be different this time around.
"Obviously, Anthony [Volpe] is playing really well over the last couple months there. Obviously, what [Ryan McMahon] has brought, Jazz [Chisholm Jr.] being full-time at second base now. We got a good club. We got a good defense, impactful defenders. Still got to go play well," Boone said. "The times when we were here in the summer, a couple times wasn't at our best, certainly, and still working through some things. I feel like, obviously the last couple of months we've really started to play really well. Contrary to some thoughts up here, we're a really good team."Boone was referencing comments made by Blue Jays color commentator Buck Martinez in early September.
"I know Buck had some thoughts. That's all I was responding to," Boone said. "He's wrong. But it doesn't matter. We've got to go play, and we've got to go perform, as everyone does this time of year. We feel really good about our team. We're playing well. All that's in the past now. We've got to play well moving forward. We have the challenge of a new series against another really good team and a really good opponent that has earned the opportunity to wait out this first series.
"We're excited, looking forward to it, and it should be a great series."
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