Gleyber Torres admits Yankees are feeling the pressure

Gleyber Torres knows exactly what the Yankees need to loosen up. A win at Fenway Park tonight will do wonders to relax he and his teammates.

It doesn’t take a grizzled veteran to understand what’s at stake for the Yankees tonight. Even a rookie like Gleyber Torres can feel the tension in the Yankees clubhouse. Fortunately, the talented rookie also knows just what his team needs to do in order to loosen up.

Torres claims all his teammates need to do in order to relax is to even up the ALDS at one game a piece. Of course, that’s easier said than done. If the Yankees want to even things up tonight, they’re going to need to hit like a team that doesn’t have a care in the world.

It was easy to see that wasn’t the game last night in Game 1. The Yankees were a dismal one for seven with runners in scoring position. Specifically, Torres and company failed to get a big hit when they were fortunate enough to load the bases. One extra base hit with the bases full of Yankees could have catapulted the team to a big victory.

Boone and company could certainly use more production from the team’s talented pair of rookies tonight. Torres and Miguel Andujar combined to go one for six with six men left on base last night. If neither player manages to drive in runs tonight, the Yankees may head back to the Bronx suffering from a 2-0 deficit.

In fairness, reading those sorts of statistics isn’t going to do anything to relax anyone on Boone’s roster. They need to approach tonight’s game like it’s a brand series. The looser the Yankees can play tonight, the better their chances of winning the game will become. No one will benefit from playing an uptight game against their arch rivals.

Add all of this up and it’s clear the Yankees could benefit from a quick start to tonight’s ball game. If David Price can keep the New York bats quiet early, Boone’s entire roster might begin to grip their bats really tightly in the late innings.

If Torres really wants to feel pressure, all he needs to do is lose tonight’s game. Heading back to New York with the need to beat Boston three consecutive times would really give him a sense of what playoff tension is all about.