"Little reminder of how many other things he does well" - Yankees manager Aaron Boone applauds the all-round skills of Aaron Judge

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone heaped praise on captain Aaron Judge's all-round abilities after he made a stunning catch to rob a game-tying home run in their 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday night. Boone believes that the Yankees captain helps the team in many different ways besides his exceptional power-hitting capability.

By his elite standards, Aaron Judge had a quiet game at the plate after going 1-4 with one walk and no extra-base hits. Nevertheless, he made a big impact on the result when he leaped above the centerfield fence for an outstanding catch that prevented a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Judge then made a strong relay throw in time to complete a double play at first base and end the inning.

Boone pointed out the all-around skills of the Yankees slugger while speaking to Gary Phillips of NY Daily Sports News.

"He's really good at this stuff," Boone said. "So the night they keep him in the ballpark, he takes one back from the other side. Just little reminder of how many other things he does well."

Speaking to reporters after the game, Aaron Boone offered his perspective on the spectacular catch:

"The ball looked like it was carrying pretty well tonight. So, off the bat, I thought it was going to be a homer. Had a pretty good view of Aaron [Judge] tracking it, and I thought he had a good beat on it. I didn't know he caught it until he came down," Boone said.

"It was a big shot in the arm. Our dugout erupted. Obviously, that ties the game at the time if he doesn't [make the catch]," he added.

Meanwhile, Aaron Judge also reached a milestone on Monday when he knocked a single out to right field to bring up the 1000th hit of his MLB career.

Defense was really nice: Aaron Boone

Aaron Boone was happy with the performance of Nestor Cortes (Image Credit: IMAGN)

The Yankees manager also lauded the efforts of his team's defense, especially on a night when their main sluggers were not nearly at their best. Although Judge eventually recorded a hit, Juan Soto went 0-for-4 in the game while Giancarlo Stanton finished 0-for-5 on the night.

"Obviously, Judge with his 52nd home run of the year," Boone jokingly referred to the outfielder's catch via YES Network.

"Alex Verdugo with just a tremendous all-round play in defense. I thought we did other things really well. [Austin] Wells with the bag-pick at second base. So, [the defense] was really nice behind Nestor [Cortes], who I thought grinded really well," he added.

Left-handed starting pitcher Nestor Cortes posted his third straight quality start and win after allowing just four hits and one run in 6.2 innings with five strikeouts on Monday night. Moreover, Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo both produced three hits in the game, while DJ LeMahieu also came up with two RBIs.

The New York Yankees will face the Washington Nationals again on Tuesday for the second meeting of their three-game series.