Yankees Give Aaron Boone All the Evidence He Needs to Ride Momentum From Walk-Off Win

When the New York Yankees outdueled the Angels on Monday, it felt like a moment where things were coming together. Aaron Judge was hitting balls into the seats, and Trent Grisham broke out of a funk. The next day, they lost 7-1 and were shut down by Reid Detmers.

Wednesday had a chance to be another letdown game, with their big win earlier in the week feeling more and more like an outlier. In that ninth inning, though, the team showed a sense of urgency that had not been evident over the last week. For one, it was their aggressiveness on the base paths that put the pressure on Jordan Romano to once again falter in the ninth.

The Yankees got a big break when their former top prospect, Oswald Peraza, allowed a ball to drop in front of him. Then, right after that, Jazz Chisholm Jr. stole second.

It was their aggressive baserunning again that eventually sealed the deal. After an Austin Wells walk, Jose Caballero hit a ball into the gap. Just after the tying run scored, Wells slid home, and once again, the Yankees walked it off against Romano.

It was a moment where manager Aaron Boone and his squad could have played it conservatively. Especially since, during this offensive slump, baserunners have been hard to come by. Instead, he had Chisholm steal second, and an aggressive send by third base coach Luis Rojas was why they won a game it felt like they had no business winning.

Another angle of Austin Wells scoring the game-winning run from first pic.twitter.com/JtaavGNhfo
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 16, 2026

That big catch by Bryce Teodosio could have sucked the air out of the room for the Yankees, but they still managed to put together a rally after that.

If there is one thing that Boone should take from this game, it's that, even if they aren't hitting, they need to use their other tools in their toolbox to scratch out wins. In this case, it's their legs.

Ride the momentum

Now, for the first time since their series against the Marlins, they have a shot to win a series. A tough four-game set at that, where Mike Trout looks like the Mike Trout of old and has been impossible to get out.

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jordan Romano (68) reacts after giving up a two run home run to New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. | John Jones-Imagn Images

If there's one thing they shouldn't do, it's put up another stinker like they did during the Detmers game. It's easier said than done, and the results have been disappointing so far, but this hasn't been an easy series for them, and coming out of it, taking three of four could be a huge confidence boost.

Oakland Athletics Outfiel — Athletics outfielders Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom (21), Denzel Clarke (1) and Lawrence Butler (4) celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Getting back on track

If the Yankees are going to right this ship, they'll still need their offense to pick it up. It's the main thing Boone has been pointing to for this lull.

"We've struggled offensively a little bit," Boone said, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "We've got a number of guys trying to get going. That's part of it. How you handle that is going to say a lot about what kind of team you are."

Key pieces of the lineup have been underperforming. Giancarlo Stanton has come down to earth after a hot first week, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. looks lost at the plate. Outside of his defense and baserunning, he has been bad, and those underlying metrics look ugly, too. He is in the first percentile in xwOBA and xSLG and the third percentile in expected batting average.

For Judge, whose bat is finally heating up, he says the team's success begins at the individual level. He wants his teammates to stop overthinking things.

"It starts with yourself, looking individually at, 'Hey, what can I change?'" Judge said. "'What can I do to put myself in a better position to help this team win?' That's what it comes down to, and don't try to do too much. Go out there, do your job, and we'll be in a good spot."

Early swoon

This has been one of the earlier swoons the Yankees have found themselves in. Things usually fall apart during the summer.

They started 2026 7-1. The Yankees looked like a runaway train, but have since come back down to earth. They are now 10-8, and, after getting trounced by the Rays last weekend, they sit behind them in the American League East.

For all their blemishes, there is still a lot to be encouraged about with these Yankees. They showed a lot of fight in that ninth inning. It's still early to tell what the team's character can be over the course of 162 games, but there is some grit in them. If there wasn't, that series would have been lost in the ninth after the Teodosio catch.

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