"It was a great environment to play in" - Aaron Boone acknowledges Yankees fans for Juan Soto & Trent Grisham chants in series finale
The New York Yankees avoided a series sweep against the Los Angeles Dodgers after a win in the series finale on Sunday. Trent Grisham was the star of the night for the Bronx Bombers.
The Yankees acquired two-time Gold Glove winner Trent Grisham in the offseason as part of the blockbuster Juan Soto deal. Grisham, filled in for the injured Soto, who missed his third consecutive of the series.
Chants of "We want Soto" echoed around the Yankee Stadium during the sixth inning, with Grisham scheduled for his at-bats. The center fielder noticed the chants in the ballpark and responded with a three-run homer off Tyler Glasnow to put the Yankees ahead in the game.
When Grisham returned for his next at-bat, the Yankees fans changed their tune and started the chant, "We want Grisham." Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged the atmosphere and the enthusiasm of the fans after his team's win.
"I heard it," Boone said on the Soto chants. "It's just part of the great environment that was out there this weekend and this game tonight for sure. Then I heard the 'We want Grisham' chants the next time around. It was a great environment to play in. Two really good teams, a great series, great ballgame."
Aaron Judge wasn't pleased with the "we want Soto" chants aimed at Trent Grisham
While Aaron Boone didn't pay much attention to the chants at Yankee Stadium, Yankees captain Aaron Judge wasn't pleased with the Soto chants during Grisham's plate visit.
“Soto is going to heal up fine, but Grish is a heck of a ballplayer and he showed it tonight in a big moment when we needed him. I wasn’t too happy with it, but I think he made a good point; he got his point across with that homer,” Judge said via MLB.com.
Judge extended his team's lead in the eighth inning with a solo home run, extending his purple patch that began last month. He now leads the major leagues for the most home runs this season, with 24 to his name.
The former MVP expressed his emotions when Grisham struck his go-ahead three-run homer.
“For him to come up with a big homer like that, that was so special,” Judge said. “Me and Dugey [Alex Verdugo] were screaming and yelling around the bases.”
While Soto remains a vital cog in the Yankees' offense, Trent Grisham's heroics on Sunday have given Aaron Boone something to think about for the future of the Yankees' hitting lineup.