Boone sees some Javy in Gleyber's defense

ANAHEIM -- Gleyber Torres' slick defense during his brief time in the big leagues has conjured a favorable comparison for Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who likened the rookie second baseman to Cubs standout Javier Báez prior to Saturday's game against the Angels.
"I think he's played really well," Boone said. "I think he's been outstanding in the field. I knew he was a good defender. He's been great out there. There's a confidence, there's a heartbeat, there's a clock that he plays with out there that's really impressive. Just watching with my eyes the way he goes after a ball, it almost reminds me of Javy Baez a little bit, the way he plays out there. There's just a real comfort."
A converted shortstop, Torres has taken nicely to playing on the other side of the bag. He wowed his manager twice during Friday's 4-3, 10-inning victory -- smoothly ranging behind the bag and firing to retire Andrelton Simmons on a second-inning groundout, and turning a smooth double play on Albert Pujols in the fourth.
"First of all, great play up the middle [on Simmons] that he made look really easy," Boone said. "But the double-play ball he turned, just no rush, a calmness to the way he does it. He's got really good hands for playing second, he's got a shortstop's arm. That's a bonus.
"I think, overall, his at-bats have been pretty strong. I've been really, really pleased with how he's played and how he's settled in in his days in the big leagues."

Glove story
Torres was not the only New York defender contributing slick plays on Friday. Giancarlo Stanton twice stole hits from Angels batters with four-star catches, ranging far to retire Mike Trout in the first inning and Martín Maldonado in the eighth. After a rocky debut in left field this spring, Stanton has proven that he is capable of handling the challenge.
"I was thinking about him a lot last night afterwards," Boone said. "Just think about a National League MVP coming to our team and all that means in coming to New York. All he's been is a great teammate. We're going to DH you, we're going to throw you in left, put you in right. And all he's done is worked his butt off. I'm so appreciative of a guy of his stature."

Walk of life
Neil Walker is picking up additional playing time while Tyler Austin serves his four-game suspension, and though the switch-hitter scorched a couple of balls in Friday's contest, he left with only a sacrifice fly to show for it. Still, Walker saw the pair of deep flyouts as an encouraging sign.
"It makes you wonder if I haven't gone to church enough," Walker said.
Walker crushed a ball to left field off Andrew Heaney in the fourth inning that had a 60 percent hit probability, according to Statcast™, but went for a flyout. In the sixth, right fielder Kole Calhoun brought back what would have been a three-run homer for an inning-ending double play, though a run scored.
"Sometimes when it rains, it pours, so you have to keep your head up," Walker said. "You have to keep it in a positive place and you have to keep being aggressive, and I feel like I did that offensively, from both sides of the plate, and drove some balls."
Batter up!
When the Yankees moved Miguel Andujar from designated hitter to third base in the ninth inning on Friday, the pitcher entered the batting order in the No. 9 spot. With Austin Romine the only remaining choice on the bench, Boone said that he might have sent up Masahiro Tanaka or Sonny Gray to pinch-hit, had the game kept going.
"We had a couple guys [who were options]," Boone said. "We had Masa and Sonny with their spikes on. Robbie [David Robertson] has been begging me for an at-bat for about a month. You never know. We were all hands on deck last night. It was fun to see everyone kind of scrambling and hooked up and ready to contribute however they needed to."
Playing on a pair of balky knees, CC Sabathia was not an option; Boone joked that they told him, "Stay over there, big fella."
The last Yankees pitcher to log a plate appearance in a non-Interleague game was left-hander Sean Henn, who struck out looking in the eighth inning of New York's 21-4 victory over Tampa Bay on July 22, 2007.