CLEVELAND — Anthony Volpe is delivering his best at-bats at the most important time of the year.
After a regular season that came with plenty of ups and downs at the plate, Volpe has found his consistency during the playoffs, playing a key role in the Yankees advancing to the World Series on Saturday night with a 5-2, 10-inning win over the Guardians at Progressive Field.
“This is why you play the game, for moments and games and teams like this” Volpe said after the clincher. “Everyone’s giving their all and we want to put it all out there.”
The second-year shortstop has now reached base in all nine Yankees postseason games after going 1-for-4 on Saturday night. He is only the eighth Yankee in franchise history to reach base in each of his first nine career playoff games, joining Bernie Williams (15), George Selkirk (14), Derek Jeter (13), Chris Chambliss (11), Thurman Munson (11), Charlie Keller (11), and Luke Voit (9).
“I feel like the consistency of his at-bats this entire postseason thus far have been excellent,” manager Aaron Boone said before Game 5. “Whether he’s gotten a result on a given day, he’s having good at-bats. It’s been great to see, and he’s a big reason we’re here.”
Boone has repeatedly pointed to the Yankees’ week of workouts leading into the ALDS as key for Volpe in solidifying his swing in time to elevate his game for the biggest moments of the year.
For the first time this postseason, Boone used Giancarlo Stanton as his cleanup hitter against a right-handed starter on Saturday night.
He had been hesitant to do so earlier because he did not want to load the top half of his lineup with right-handed hitters and the bottom half with left-handed hitters.
But at this point, with the Guardians bullpen on fumes, he took his chances with Stanton giving stronger protection behind Aaron Judge than Austin Wells or Jazz Chisholm Jr., who had previously hit cleanup against righties in this series.
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It paid off as Stanton, who was named ALCS MVP, belted the game-tying homer in the Yankees’ pennant-clinching victory.
“It’s a heavyweight fight now,” Boone said. “Take the body blows.”
Nestor Cortes threw about 20 pitches in a live batting practice session against Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu on Saturday afternoon, the second time he has faced hitters since being shut down for a left elbow flexor strain.
“Good velo[city], crisp, good command,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “Good step forward.”
As long as the left-hander continues to bounce back well, he will face hitters again in a few days, which would make him a likely candidate to join the World Series roster.
Friday marked the fourth time this postseason the Yankees and Mets won on the same day.
Before this October, it had only happened five times before in the playoffs — three times in 1999 and twice in 2000.
