New York Yankees: What did manager Aaron Boone to get his team going?

The New York Yankees earned a 3-0 lead on the series against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night. Led by ace, Luis Severino, the Yankees claimed the victory 5-1 on the back of a stellar pitching performance from the starter and the bullpen.

Severino enjoyed four innings, allowing four hits and earning four strikeouts. At one point, he got himself out of a bases-loaded, no outs jam. His aggressiveness and confidence were beaming against a homerun centric Twins team that has failed to produce during the ALDS.

Manager Aaron Boone looked like a genius based on his moves on Monday night, especially the decision to start Severino in game three, the first game away from Yankee Stadium. Testing him in foreign waters was the perfect way to instill confidence in the starting rotation and give Severino a taste of his potential.

New York Yankees — Defense wins championships:

Despite the Yankees showing their offensive power against the Twins, their defense was stellar throughout all three games. Right fielder Aaron Judge has been jaw-dropping in the outfield, making diving catches left and right and earning praise from his fellow teammates. The fact of the matter is, defense wins championships in the postseason, and holding an offensive Minnesota team to one run at home is remarkable.

That certainly doesn’t mean that offense isn’t required, as Didi Gregorius provided a grand slam in game two to blow open the lead and the first three batters in DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge, and Brett Gardner combined for six total runs in the first game of the series. The top of the order having success is hugely encouraging and should give the Yankees confidence moving forward.

Also, scoring 21 runs in the first three games of the playoffs portrays the desire from the players and their motivation in reaching the World Series. CC Sabathia might be behind their impressive start after all.