Notes and quotes from ALDS Game 5…

Aaron Judge: “What a series. These guys kept fighting. We kept believing in each other. Able to make it happen.”

“Oh my gosh. Didi [Gregorius] has been that clutch guy for us all year. When we need a big hit, he’s always come through for us. For him to come up with those two homers against a Cy Young winner is incredible.”

“Against someone like Cody Allen who’s been so dominant, for [Brett Gardner] to keep fighting off tough pitch after tough pitch and then come through with two RBIs was incredible. That’s Gardy for ya.”

“It feels amazing. But this is just the beginning for this team. We’re gonna keep fighting. We’re gonna celebrate then get ready for Houston.”

CC Sabathia: “I was fired up. For [Gregorius] to come in and pick us up like that, pick me up, it was huge.”

“Just felt really comfortable out on the mound. Very familiar with this park, with this city. Wanted to go out and have a good performance.”

On final three outs — “I was so nervous, I was a wreck. I had to stay in the same spot the whole time.”

“I don’t know about the 2009 team. I just know that this is a really good team and we’re out here just trying to do our thing and keep going. Cash[man] did a really good job putting this team together. Like I keep saying, we mesh and gel really early in the season and I think it’s carried us to this point.”

Brian Cashman: “Our guys were scouting that whole year. We were like on a mission because Derek [Jeter] said that was his last year, so we had to find something because it wasn’t in our organization. I could not match up with Arizona. My buddy is Dave Stewart and I could not come up with a match. Finally, I called Dave Dombrowski, coveted from Detroit Shane Greene so much. I was like, if you can get me Didi [Gregorius], I’ll get ya Shane Greene. He got Didi in three days and we did a three-way deal. I could not match up with Arizona straight up, I tried 10 different ways.”

“Sports can change things, injuries, there’s a lot of things that could go wrong. That’s why you gotta grasp the moment when it comes around. The Mets go into the season this year, had a great team on paper, and then injuries hit and change the equation. You see what’s going on right now with my New York Giants. They had a great team going in, but then they got injuries and a lot of different things.”

“Just one day at a time. That’s the way they’ve been all year long. Whatever happens in the past, you turn the page and you just focus on the present. It’s just competition. These guys are very focused, they’ve been focused for a long time. They’re a very tight-knit group. It plays out, you see it. You cover it, you know it.”

On Game 1 non-challenge — “Joe [Girardi] grabbed me when he walked in the door and he just said hey man, sorry. I just said, hey we just gotta keep battling. Stuff happens and you gotta push forward. We got another game coming up.”

“Obviously you always want the games won, not lost. A series won, not lost. You’d rather the storylines be about the success, not somebody else’s failure. And thankfully, this entire franchise was able to rise above and push through and find a way to beat an amazing Cleveland team. If you have a bat in your hand, you’re able to change that storyline.”

“[Brett Gardner] is one of our leaders, no question about it. He’s been this way for a long time. He’s great on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively. But his makeup in that clubhouse… he’s a tough player.”

Didi Gregorius: “[Derek Jeter] prepared me for New York. Gave me some hitting tips also. That’s one thing that’s really important for me. The guy’s been in the big leagues for a long time. Hell of a career here in New York. It just shows you how important everything is. I’m always willing to learn everything new.

“The guy played 20 years. He’s a legend, he’s an icon in New York. Now I’m gonna focus on what I can do and just try to help the team, be the best player that I can be when I go out there.”

On the Yankees clubhouse before Game 5 — “If I tell you, you probably won’t believe me. Just regular music, guys playing billiards, guys playing the arcade machine, I was drawing on my shoes. Trying to get my shoes ready for the game. Everybody’s loose. It’s just funny. I was drawing to get my cleats ready for the game. Yesterday, we had a day off so I spent the whole day actually painting on my shoes. Trying to change the colors so I can get it blue and gray for the game today. I mean just try and stay loose, just try to distract your mind for a little bit. You don’t wanna be too stuck up.”

David Robertson: “It just makes us stronger. Losing the first two games then turning around and winning three in a row… it’s a pretty incredible feat. Especially against a team that good. The Indians are a great team. Been playing against them for years, especially being in their division with the White Sox. We just fought our tails off and took it one game at a time like Joe [Girardi] said.”

“They were very aggressive. Seemed like they wanted to swing the bat. I’m just trying to make quality pitches in the strike zone and get weak contact, let my defense play. The defense has been really good for me all year.”

“Winning game three was the turning point. Just had to win that ballgame. Win one, go to the next, win the next one.”

Brett Gardner: “It was a no-doubter. I told [Didi Gregorius], I went back to tag because I figured there was no way he can take [Corey Kluber] deep twice in the same game. Just a really really good hitter. Didi’s really matured on both sides of the ball and for me, one of the best shortstops in the game. He’s had a hell of a year and obviously a huge game today.”

“I said the [Indians] were the best team in the American League all year. Best pitching staff, best rotation. It means a lot. I like our chances going into Houston.”

“There’s really nobody I’d rather be playing defense behind in a must-win game than CC Sabathia. He’s pitched in a lot of big games and no situation is too big for him. He really rises to the occasion. I know he didn’t get the win tonight but I thought he did a really good job. Every time he takes the hill up there, I feel good about our chances.”

“[The Astros] have a really good team. They have one of the best teams in baseball and they’ve obviously played well. I’m sure they’ll be ready for us. We’re excited to go there and move on to the next round.”

“Obviously Game 2 was a tough loss to swallow. It was a game that we kind of had under control then all of a sudden it slipped away from us. A big grand slam [by Francisco Lindor] and an oppo homer by [Jay] Bruce. They won in the 13th. That’s a really good team over there. They’ve been the best team in the American League pretty much all season long. We knew it was gonna be a tough challenge coming in but we’re confident in what we’re able to do. We can beat teams in a lot of different ways. It was a huge comeback.”

Dellin Betances: “We’ve been fighting all year. We believe in each other in this clubhouse.”

“We said, we’re going home. We gotta defend our home, we did that. We came here confident that we can go out there and beat them and we did.”