I can be just as good as

NEW YORK — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone experienced a rough night in Game 3 while Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora saw his decisions work out perfectly.While Boone appeared to wait too long to get Luis Severino out of the game when the right-hander’s command was lacking Mookie Wilson Jersey , Cora opted to insert Brock Holt into the lineup at second base and start Nathan Eovaldi.Since those decisions worked out for Cora, the Red Sox can secure their trip to the American League Championship Series by beating the Yankees Tuesday in Game 4 of the American League Division Series.Article continues below ...Rick Porcello will start for the Red Sox against New York left-hander CC Sabathia.The Red Sox need one win to reach the ALCS for the first time since 2013 when they won their most recent championship. If they are unable to get it Tuesday, Game 5 is Thursday at Fenway Park.The Red Sox and Yankees are in their respective positions because of what unfolded Monday when Boston cruised to a 16-1 rout.Holt went 4-for-6 to become the first player to hit for the cycle in a postseason game, capping the milestone with a two-run homer in the ninth off New York backup catcher Austin Romine. Eovaldi, who was originally going to start Game 4, gave the Red Sox seven strong innings and helped hold the Yankees to five hits.“We’re going to try to take this into tomorrow,” Boston left fielder Andrew Benintendi said. “It’s over. We’ve enjoyed it. Now we can focus on tomorrow and get after it.”Holt had two hits in the decisive seven-run fourth that was highlighted by Benintendi’s bases-clearing double.Those hits occurred after Boone lifted Severino with the bases loaded and nobody out. Severino’s fastball velocity was diminished slightly and he was tagged for six runs on seven hits in three-plus innings.“I mean in hindsight because he didn’t get an out,” Boone said.Now because of the decisions, the Red Sox will get a chance to clinch their second postseason series win in New York, nearly 14 years after coming back from 3-0 down in the ALCS.“No choice but to flush,” Boone said after New York absorbed its worst postseason loss. “The good thing about today is it’s one game and, as awful as of a night it was for us, we got to turn the page, and tomorrow’s obviously do or die.”The Yankees trail a series two games to one for the third straight time. They won Game 4 from Cleveland in the ALDS last season and Game 4 of the ALCS from Houston a year ago.New York is hoping to force a fifth game in Boston and its history, the only times the Yankees did not force a fifth game after falling behind in the ALDS two games to one was 2002 vs. the Los Angeles Angels http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-lenny-dykstra-jersey , 2006 against the Detroit Tigers and 2007 vs. the Cleveland Indians.Porcello threw 15 pitches in getting two outs in the eighth inning Friday and protecting a two-run lead. He exited after allowing an infield single to Gleyber Torres, resulting in Craig Kimbrel getting the final four outs around Aaron Judge’s solo homer.“I think he’ll obviously be ready,” Holt said. “We’re lucky to have him on the mound, that’s for sure.”As for Porcello’s postseason history, it is inconsistent so far. He is 0-3 with a 5.33 ERA in 12 appearances and is 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA in four postseason outings with the Red Sox.Porcello made one postseason start against the Yankees in 2011 when he started Game 4 of the ALDS for the Detroit Tigers. Back then Judge was still at Fresno State and Sanchez completed his second season in the minor leagues in the South Atlantic League.The Red Sox are hoping to see the version of Porcello, who was 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA in four starts against the Yankees during the regular season.“He’s actually been good against them,” Cora said. “At one point of the playoffs, he was going to start regardless if it was Game 3 or 4.”CC Sabathia makes his 23rd postseason start and 24th appearance. In those appearances, he is 10-6 with a 4.20 ERA.Sabathia has pitched particularly well in the ALDS. In 11 appearances (10 starts) he is 6-0 with a 3.32 ERA.Since joining the Yankees in 2009 as a free agent, Sabathia is 8-3 with a 3.26 ERA in 18 postseason appearances (17 starts).The veteran left-hander faced the Red Sox twice in the 2007 ALCS with Cleveland and was 0-2 with an 11.61 ERA while losing Games 1 and 5 of that series.During the regular season, Sabathia was 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in three starts against the Red Sox.“Top to bottom, it’s a tough lineup,” Sabathia said. “They’ve got speed. They’ve got power. They take a lot of pitches. It’s a good lineup — bad lineup for me in the fact they take a lot of pitches, they’re patient, and they do a good job of working the count.” LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw has heard the chatter that he’s in decline. He’s eager to prove the doubters wrong while wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform.The ace agreed to a $93 million Gary Carter Jersey , three-year contract Friday after initially opting out of his previous deal and choosing free agency.“There’s been a lot of people saying that I’m in decline or not going to be as good as I once was,” he said. “I’m looking forward to proving a lot of people wrong with that.”Kershaw opted out of a $215 million, seven-year contract that had two seasons remaining at a total of $65 million. Signed in January 2014, it called for salaries of $32 million next year and $33 million in 2020.The new deal involves a $23 million signing bonus, payable in equal installments on June 30 in each of the next three years, and annual salaries of $23,333,333.“I wanted to stay here, so financial, everything aside, it was more valuable to me to just stay here,” he said.Also Friday, the Dodgers made $17.9 million qualifying offers to two of their other free agents: pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu and catcher Yasmani Grandal.Kershaw gets an additional $28 million in guaranteed money. The new agreement includes $4 million annually in performance bonuses, in four $1 million increments for 24, 26 Dwight Gooden Jersey , 28 and 30 games started, which could raise the deal’s value to $105 million over three years.The left-hander also can earn award bonuses of $1.5 million for winning the NL Cy Young Award or $500,000 for finishing second or third in the voting.Kershaw, his wife Ellen and their two young children make their offseason home in the Dallas area, and if the Texas Rangers had had a winning season “it would have been something to consider for sure,” he said.“It really wasn’t as much of a question for me this time around,” he said. “My kiddos love it here. Ellen loves it here. I love it here. I love the team here, and there’s not many opportunities that meet all the criteria that Ellen and I would be looking for. And myself personally, a chance to win every single year, it doesn’t come around like this in LA very often.”The money designated a signing bonus will not be subject to state income because Texas does not have a state income tax.Winner of the NL Cy Young in 2011, ’13 and ’14, Kershaw was limited to 26 starts this year because of a back injury and went 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA while striking out 155. The Dodgers lost in the World Series for the second straight season, with Kershaw taking the loss in Sunday’s season-ending Game 5 defeat to Boston. His average fastball velocity dropped by 2 mph in the past year to 91 mph.“I plan on getting back to that level that I was at,” he said. “There’s a lot of guys older than me, and there’s a lot of guys with more innings than me in the big leagues that are still maintaining their velocity.”A herniated disk in his back sidelined him in 2016. He had a less significant back problem this year and a shoulder issue.“No more DL time Keith Hernandez Jersey ,” he said. “From there, hopefully the getting people out thing will take care of itself.”At 30, Kershaw has experienced a fastball velocity decrease, and he missed time this season because of two stints on the disabled.“While I did have a little bit of a back issue this year, it wasn’t very significant. I missed more time this year because of the shoulder,” he said. “I really believe that for three years I can be just as good as I ever have been. And I’m not saying I can’t be good past that. But that’s as long as I was willing to commit to right now.”Kershaw remains the face of the franchise and his dedicated work habits have filtered down to the younger pitchers on the staff.“He’s made as much of an impact as you can on an organization in terms of the success we’ve had,” Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, said Thursday.Kershaw has a career 153-69 regular-season record with a 2.39 ERA in 318 games but it’s in the postseason where his numbers drop. He’s 9-10 with a 4.32 ERA. He gave up four runs in seven innings in Game 5 of the World Series.“Winning is still the most important thing for me,” he said.