New York Daily News

Betances ‘grooves’ first pitch

- BY PETER BOTTE & MIKE MAZZEO

TORONTO — There weren’t many negative aspects of the Yankees’ Giancarlof­ueled Opening Day victory over the Blue Jays, but Dellin Betances certainly didn’t get off to the start he had hoped for following a disjointed finish to 2017. Betances, who fell out of Joe Girardi’s bullpen rotation late last season and in the playoffs due to bouts with wildness and ineffectiv­eness, surrendere­d the lone run in the Yanks’ 6-1 win on a solo homer by Kevin Pillar in the eighth inning.

“He ambushed the first pitch. I was trying to groove one in there and I didn’t think he would

HONORING DOC

Before the game, the Blue Jays retired No. 32 in honor of former ace Roy “Doc” Halladay, who died in a plane crash last November.

Halladay, who spent 12 seasons of his 16-year MLB career in Toronto, was killed on Nov. 7 when a two-seat plane he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off of the coast of Florida. The six-time All-Star had amphetamin­es, morphine and traces of a drug used to treat insomnia in his system at the time of the crash, according to an autopsy report released in January.

“For me, he was the best pitcher of our generation,” CC Sabathia said.

TYlER GETS ‘D’ HOOk

Tyler Austin was removed from the game in the sixth inning for defensive purposes, Boone said, with Neil Walker shifting to first base and Tyler Wade entering at second…Greg Bird (ankle), Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique) and Clint Frazier (concussion) were placed on the disabled list.

TGETTY ORONTO - Before Aaron Boone’s managerial debut, Brian Cashman made it clear that he felt like he hired the right man for the job.

“There’s no second-guessing or concerns,” Cashman said. “He’s earned the right to be there, and he deserves to be in that dugout.

“You worry in interviews that you could be fooled, but there was nothing in that nine-hour process that we had with him and our staff that provided anything that would change how we felt coming out of it. He is everything that I thought he could be, and now this will be the next phase of that — the regular season.”

Cashman could’ve taken the safe route and kept Joe Girardi — a solid skipper, who, as one scout opined, “would’ve killed it with this team.”

But the GM felt he needed to go in another direction. With his team perhaps on the verge of something special, he wanted a better communicat­or — someone who would really embrace analytics and be willing to collaborat­e with the front office.

After the interview process, that someone was Boone.

Given that Cashman has put the Yankees into championsh­ip-or-bust status with his accelerate­d roster rebuild, it’s a risk. But on Opening Day, everything went right, and Boone got off to a 1-0 start, his team easily defeating the Blue Jays 6-1 at Rogers Centre.

Giancarlo Stanton starred with his power bat and Luis Severino starred on the mound. The depth of the lineup and bullpen proved too much to handle for Toronto.

“Great. It was a lot of fun,” Boone said. “It’s definitely fun to do this for real and get off on a good note.”

During the spring, Boone radiated positivity. He told his players to embrace expectatio­ns and pursue greatness. He leaned on his staff, which quickly eased Cashman’s concern about not having well-regarded bench coach Rob Thomson to run camp any longer.

Still, it’s imperative Boone gets off to a strong start with this particular team in this particular city, where only wins and losses

 ??  ?? Star of Yankees’ season opener Giancarlo Stanton shakes hands with new skipper Aaron Boone, who knows the pressure he faces this season, though on Thursday in Toronto his potent lineup makes the job very easy.
Star of Yankees’ season opener Giancarlo Stanton shakes hands with new skipper Aaron Boone, who knows the pressure he faces this season, though on Thursday in Toronto his potent lineup makes the job very easy.
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