Voit does it again, blasts key triple
Luke Voit was getting some crap.
The Yankees' newest sensation certainly thought his sixth-inning rocket to right field was going to be his first postseason home run.
“But I got my first triple,” Voit said. “The guys were making fun of me for thinking it was one when (Giancarlo Stanton) hit that gargantuan homer later.
“It's all good,” Voit said, savoring the cold chill of champagne dumped over his head. “It feels so good.”
So far, everything Voit has touched with the Yankees has been good. He tripled in two runs Wednesday night in the Yankees' 7-2 win over the A's in the American League wild card game at Yankee Stadium. Then the not exactly fleet-of-foot first baseman scored on a sacrifice fly to left, which surprised even him.
“When Didi hit that sac fly, my legs were burning (from the triple) and my lungs were burning from all the screaming and yelling,” Voit said with a laugh. “It was unbelievable.”
Voit was a player that the Yankees thought had “upside” when they dealt for him in July, but to be honest they also really wanted the international slot money, Brian Cashman said before Wednesday night's game.
“First base wasn't supposed to be a problem. I think we all expected great things from Greg Bird it just didn't happen,” Cashman told Mike Francesa on WFAN. “We looked at a lot different upgrades in that area. St., Louis had a need for Shreve, we needed upgrade potential at first base because Tyler Austin was going to be out of options and at their looking international slot money. Luke showed up on our radar a couple years ago, out analytics department did a good job identifying him. We liked his upside.”
Wednesday night, Voit was starting at first base for the Yankees in the most important game of the year. Voit is hitting .333 with 14 homers and 33 RBI in 39 games with the Yankees.
WE WANT BOSTON
The crowd at Yankee Stadium began the chant in the bottom of the sixth inning. “We want Boston!” And the Yankees certainly heard them.
“Everybody wants Boston, we want Boston too,” Gregorius said, “that's what we play for.”
The Yankees will begin the best-of-five game series in Boston on Friday. The Yankees went 9-10 against the Red Sox, who won the American League East, this season.
“It's gonna be fun,” CC Sabathia said. “We haven't pay them in the playoffs since I've been here. It's gonna be fun and it's gonna be Intense. It's always intense when we play them. We get a chance to finish the series.
“A five-game series to see who is the best.”
Aaron Boone, though a first-year manager, has some experience with the YankeesRed Sox playoff intensity. He hit the home run against the Red Sox that clinched the 2003 pennant for the Yankees.
He thinks his players will be ready to make their own magic.
“I think they can't wait. I think they're ready and relish the opportunity to go up against the games best this year,” Boone said. “And obviously we're very familiar with them. We know how good they are. I mean, we know we have to play our best if we're going to have a chance to beat them.”
G-FORCE HOME RUN
Giancarlo Stanton homered to lead off the eighth inning with “gargantuan,” shot that towered over the leftfield foul pole and had an exit velocity of 117.4 miles per hour. It was the hardest hit home run of the Statcast era, surpassing Aaron Judge's homer (116.1) in the first inning.
Stanton became the first Yankee to homer and steal a base in his first playoff appearance. He is the eighth major leaguer. Stanton went 1,144 career games without a postseason appearance, the second most behind Kyle Seager among active players.