CINCINNATI — After reflecting overnight and seeing another video appear on my X feed, I was reminded that Aaron Boone appeared on Talkin’ Yanks with Jomboy and Jake for their weekly interview segment, commonly known as Bantering with Boone.
In the episode, Jomboy posed a question and made a suggestion to Boone regarding extra innings on the road, which ultimately foreshadowed the events that unfolded just 12 hours later.
For a team that has consistently struggled to score in extra innings on the road, it would have been logical for the Yankees to play for a single run in that situation. On the road in the top of the 10th inning, Austin Wells led off with Anthony Volpe placed on second base as the automatic runner. Wells swung at the first pitch and flied out, effectively wasting the at-bat.
In that scenario, a more strategic decision may have been to have Wells lay down a bunt to advance Volpe to third base, increasing the likelihood of scoring on a subsequent sacrifice fly. Instead, the inning ended with the bases loaded after Aaron Judge popped out.
Had the Yankees scored that go-ahead run, they could have brought in Devin Williams to pitch the bottom of the 10th inning. Williams had thrown just nine pitches in the ninth and was available for a second inning of work, which may have enhanced the Yankees’ chances of securing a win.