Yankees biggest stars have maligned teammates to thank for this victory

The Yankees did not win their first playoff game of 2024 because of their stars. They won because of their broken toys.

They didn’t win because of who led them in homers or steals or ERA. They won because of who led them in boos.

Gerrit Cole arguably got hit as hard as he ever has. Aaron Judge remained in his October malaise.

Instead, the best Aaron on Saturday night was Boone. He picked Alex Verdugo over Jasson Dominguez in left field and Oswaldo Cabrera over Ben Rice at first, and stuck with Austin Wells at cleanup and didn’t relegate Clay Holmes to the meaningless. The Yankees manager made a series of choices and was rewarded when the three players vying for Bronx Enemy No. 1 — Verdugo, Holmes and Gleyber Torres — were essential in winning Division Series Game 1, 6-5 over the Royals.

As Verdugo said, “You can make up for a lot of things in the playoffs.”

Indeed. The strongest deodorant in this sport is October success. It can make all the previous stench waft away.

The Yankees are going to need 10 more victories to gain their 28th championship and it is hard to envision that run without Cole and Judge rising the same way the other member of the Big Three, Juan Soto, did as the Yankees continued their mastery of AL Central foes. But for one night the guys at the back of the chorus went from boo to boon.

Let’s begin with why they were needed. It starts with Cole, who gave up three runs in five innings. But it could have been so much worse. Each outfield member — Soto, Judge and Verdugo twice — helped limit further damage with outstanding plays. Cole allowed eight balls to be hit at least 100 mph and 11 to be struck at least 95, tying his most since the tracking began in 2015.

Judge came in hitting .211 in 44 playoff games with strikeouts in exactly one-third of his plate appearances. It is the missing piece from his resume — to excel at this time of year while helping the Yankees to a championship. And he got an instant chance to do that.

Torres walked leading off the first and Soto produced the first of his three hits, dumping a double near the left-field line. The 48,790 at the Stadium rose to the moment. Part of the storyline of this series is the presumptive AL MVP Judge vs. the likely runner-up, Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. In the top of the first, Judge had made a splendid running catch to keep Witt from a double, possibly a triple.

But here with a chance to make an offensive statement as well, Judge struck out. And the mode was set for him and the Yankees. Judge would go 0-for-4 with three whiffs. The Yanks would go 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Those two hits?

Wells had struggled late in the year and all season vs lefties (.197), but Boone stuck with him behind Judge at cleanup. Judge struck out with men on the corners and one out in the sixth. But then Wells, who had drawn a bases-loaded walk off lefty Angel Zerpa in the fifth, smacked a single to right off lefty Sam Long to score Verdugo, who had walked to tie it 5-5.

In the seventh, Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled leading off, stole second as Anthony Volpe whiffed and was still there after a strikeout by Cabrera, who had doubled earlier and played well at first. Verdugo already had two strong defensive plays, including a running, sliding catch near the left-field line on a ball that struck his wrist, then body before he caught it to save Cole runs in the fourth. He already had the walk and a single. And here he singled again to drive home Chisholm for what would prove the winning run.

“Look, he’s a really good all-around player and went through some stretches where it was a struggle,” Boone said of Verdugo. “But that’s what he’s capable of. I mean, just a really good game-winning at-bat there going the other way there.”

Perhaps the only stock that had dropped further this season than Verdugo’s was Holmes’ — both in their walk year. He lost his closer’s job, but not his manager’s faith.

By the time he entered Saturday, Torres and Kansas City’s MJ Melendez each had a hit a two-run homer to right that would clear the fence in just one stadium — this one. And Volpe had made a throwing error in the sixth that led to a Garrett Hampson two-run single that gave Kansas City a 5-4 edge.

In came Holmes and let’s just say there was not a rousing ovation for summoning the MLB leader in blown saves (13). But Holmes settled down the game for the Yanks with five huge outs (he now is scoreless in 9 ²/₃ career postseason innings). That created the runway for the big hits from Wells and Verdugo, and for the closer who replaced Holmes, Luke Weaver, to dominate the end game.

Opening night for the Yankees was not about the stars. It was about the damaged goods in the chorus. It was about Boone and turning boos to boons.