Aaron Hicks? Yes, Aaron Hicks.
The often-ridiculed, sometimes downright unwatchable outfielder was the Yankees’ hero on Thursday night. His three-run, no-doubt home run in the bottom of the ninth tied things up. Five batters later, Aaron Judge’s walk-off liner into the left field corner gave the Yankees an improbable 7-6 win.
Hicks was slugging just .288 heading into the game, the eighth-lowest among any player with at least 200 plate appearances. For his late-game showdown with Astros’ closer Ryan Pressly, that was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was ball meeting bat, and Hicks did that with cathartic force.