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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

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Debate

Can Aaron Boone's leadership finally bring the Yankees the October glory they've been chasing?

With October right around the corner and playoffs approaching, every baseball fan is buzzing with excitement—and so are the teams! Yankees manager is feeling the weight of the moment, especially as his team sits at the top of the charts. Leading brings pressure, even when you’re doing great, so, even though they are at the top, the Yankees’ season has had its share of ups and downs from September to August. However, their recent win has given them a much-needed boost.

The best part? The team triumphed over their rivals, taking down the Boston Red Sox in a thrilling 3-game series. But, just like their rollercoaster 2024 season, winning this series wasn’t a walk in the park. The Yankees had their share of ups and downs here too, including a tough loss to the Red Sox in the series. The tension was high, but in the end, the Yankees made a stunning comeback, sealing the series with a big win, making both Yankees fans and the manager beam with pride!

What did Aaron Boone say about his team’s performance?

Aaron Boone couldn’t control his happiness, and post-game when he was seen reminiscing about the series and his team’s performance, he said, “I’m enjoying the focus of that group down there and how well they’re throwing the ball.”  So are we! And if we talk about throwing the ball, how could we forget the small moments of the match of the rivalry of the two, where Brayan Bello pitched a fiery ball to Judge, almost hitting him? Dodged a bullet for real. But if we come back to the Yankees pitching, it was a nail-biter too! And a reporter asked Boone a very intriguing question for the same.

He asked the manager if he felt any special emotions, especially since a closer might find it routine, but it’s not exactly routine for these guys. Aaron Boone responded with a smart answer, saying that everyone handles it differently, but at this point in the season, “These games mean a lot. Even today, you’re kind of holding your breath the whole way through, just holding them off, holding them off.” And we can totally see why he felt that way—the game was a rollercoaster. But thankfully, it ended on a historic and record-breaking note for one of the players.

And it was Carlos Rodon who stole the spotlight in this thrilling showdown! He snagged his 15th win of the season on Sunday, adding five strikeouts and just two walks to his impressive tally. That’s a career-high in wins for the 31-year-old. But hold up, the excitement doesn’t stop there! Rodon’s stellar performance was just one piece of the puzzle. The whole Yankees squad was blazing hot on Sunday.

Winning the series was a team effort!

See we are not denying the fact that Rodon’s inning was the ultimate strike and come on he has been on fire lately this was his seventh time in the last 10 starts where he’s kept opponents to two runs or fewer over five or more innings. With a 3.18 ERA across 56.2 innings and 74 strikeouts during this stretch, he’s been a real ace. And the manager has appreciated it by saying that the lefty was able to “make a lot of big pitches.” But to win the series there was more than that and that was the time effort from the entire Bronx Bombers!

Ian Hamilton was the hero of the bullpen, striking out Trevor Story and Danny Jansen to wriggle out of a tight spot, while the Yankees’ bullpen dazzled with 3 ²/₃ scoreless innings, dropping their ERA to a jaw-dropping 1.16 over the last 10 games. Tim Hill turned a tricky situation into a double play in the seventh, Clay Holmes put out the fire in the eighth, and Tommy Kahnle closed the show with a game-ending double play in the ninth, snatching victory from Jarren Duran’s grasp.

Thanks to their stellar performance, the Yankees bounced back from one of their weirdest days of the season with a solid 5-2 win over the Red Sox, all while 45,552 fans were there to cheer them on. But it’s not just the Sox that are in the mix; the Orioles are hot on their heels, sitting in second place on the leaderboard and making the race even tighter. It’s crunch time, and the team needs to keep the momentum going to keep manager Aaron Boone’s playoff dreams and spirits high.

What do you think—Will the Bronx be able to do so? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

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