Around the Empire: Yankees news - 10/6/24

SNY | Andy Martino : The Yankees made a controversial decision in naming Alex Verdugo the ALDS Game 1 starter over Jasson Domínguez in left field, Verdugo well below average with the bat for most of the season, and Domínguez offering the higher ceiling. Verdugo proved his critics wrong and the Yankees decision makers right with a clutch performance Saturday night. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and the game-winning single in the seventh as well as a run-saving sliding catch in short left field to end the fourth, underscoring the decision to prioritize his defensive stability after Domínguez made a handful of high-profile mistakes on fly balls at the end of the regular season.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips : Juan Soto proved again that he is built for the biggest moments, going 3-for-5 in Game 1 of the ALDS while also throwing a runner out at home, and just might be the missing piece the Yankees need to get them over the finish line in the postseason. With his free agency looming this winter and a potential record-setting contract in sight, Soto is solely focused on winning a championship in what could be his lone season in pinstripes. Giving a touch of optimism to fans who hope to see him finish his career in the Bronx, Soto has said throughout the season how much he loves playing in New York and how much he appreciates the love the fans have shown him every time he takes the field.

CBS Sports | Mike Axisa : Aaron Boone loves to say how the team's goals are "right in front of [them]" and never in his tenure as Yankees manager have those words rung more true. Between the talent on the roster and the path to the World Series with the Tigers having eliminated the Yankees' postseason bogeyman in the Astros , there has never been a better chance to win the World Series in the current Yankees era than now. New York has two AL Central opponents between them and the Fall Classic, and with Soto alongside Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole still in their primes, the team must seize this opportunity.