What Yankees see from Gleyber Torres when it matters most

Yankees rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres hit a single to right field in the bottom of the 10th inning to drive in Miguel Andujar with the game-winning run in a 6-5 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 (5/29/18).

NEW YORK — Watching Yankees rookie Gleyber Torres hit in the 10th inning with the game on the line Tuesday night, manager Aaron Boone noticed a couple of traits that a lot of the greats have.

Hitting after fellow Baby Bomber Miguel Andujar ripped a two-out, nobody-on double into the left-field corner off Houston Astros reliever Brad Peacock, Torres didn’t like plate umpire Tripp Gibson III calling a strike on a 1-0 pitch that was borderline low.

Torres was frustrated enough that he said something to the ump, but then he immediately went back to focusing on the task at hand.

“I think it’s a ball, but the umpire called a strike,” Torres said. “I don’t control that. I just take a breath and stay focused and try to do my job.”

Torres worked the count to 2-2, then fouled off a 94-mph fastball that was in the same spot as the 1-0 strike.

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And then this rising star showed his greatness once again by lining a base-hit to right field, Andujar raced home from second and the Yankees had a 6-5, 10-inning walk-off win over the reigning champs in a game in which they trailed by two heading to the bottom of the ninth.

“You can feel (Torres) really just kind of slow it down and control the moment, and that’s something that’s stood out to me about him since he’s got here really,” Boone said. “And Peacock’s making pitches against him. Spoil, spoil, long at-bat where he’s on pitches where Peacock’s executing.

“It’s just a really, really mature at-bat from a good player. There’s no question he got a little emotional there and reacted, but he snapped right out of it and controlled the moment. You’ve got to be able to do that because sometimes you’re going to react and you’ve got to be able to reign it in in a hurry if you’re going to be an elite player.”

Torres was the biggest hero of the night after he committed two of the Yankees’ season-high five errors, one on his second bad throw in two days and the other on a boot of an easy grounder that should have been an inning-ending double play.

“You’ve got to live with the mistakes and see what happens at the end of the game,” Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia said.

Torres’ game-winning hit came on the same day that he was named the American League Player of the Week. The award was no surprise, as the 21-year-old last week became the youngest player in AL history to homer four games in a row. For the week, he hit .368 with five homers and nine RBIs in six games.

Torres definitely has been all that and more since he received his first big-league call-up on April 22 after a few years of being labeled one of baseball’s best prospects.

Through Tuesday’s 2-for 5-night, Torres is hitting .321 with nine homers and 26 RBIs … and two walk-off hits counting his game-winning homer that beat Cleveland on May 6.

“Being that young and playing for this organization, there’s a lot of pressure,” Sabathia said. “For him to be able to deliver in these moments, it just means there’s more to come.”

Torres’ error total is up to seven, a team-high, but he’s mixed in a whole lot of tremendous plays, too.

And when Torres makes a mistake, he’s able to turn the page like a veteran, then often make up for it, as he did Tuesday night.

“I personally believe that’s where Gleyber is at his best in that I think he’s equipped to handle all that the Major Leagues are going to throw at him and what being a Yankee and playing in New York and all that’s going to come his way,” Boone said. “I feel like his foundation and who he is will allow him to deal with anything that comes his way.

“I don’t care who you are, there are going to be ups and downs and this game will get you sometimes, but we really feel confident that the person that he is will allow him to deal with everything that comes his way.

“I think when you hear about going into this year and this winter and in the past about Gleyber being one of the best prospects in the game, I think a lot of people would talk about the intangible element and I think he has that. So I really don’t worry about when storms come with him. We’ll walk alongside him and deal with things as they come as best we can, but I feel like he’s really equipped to handle things.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.