So.
Gerrit Cole is good at baseball.
Like, really good.
The New York Yankees opened up the best-of-three Wild Card Series tonight in Cleveland, and, well, they didn’t wait very long to put the game to bed. Four pitches into the game, Cleveland Indians ace and Cy Young favorite Shane Bieber, found himself in a 2-0 hole thanks to a leadoff single from AL Batting Champion DJ LeMahieu. Followed by a first pitch home run from former AL Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge. Bieber managed to escape the inning with no extra damage, and wouldn’t allow another run until the third inning, courtesy of the MLB regular season leader in home runs Luke Voit mashing a double to drive in Aaron Hicks.
Bieber would make it 4 ⅔ innings before being relieved by Phil Maton.
The Indians would respond, thanks to an RBI double from Jose Ramirez in the third inning, cutting the deficit to 3-1. But without Tyler Naquin, the Indians probably wouldn’t have sniffed 3 runs, let alone a second. Naquin, going 4-4 with a single, two doubles and a solo home run was the clear MVP for the Indians tonight.
Speaking of team MVPS, did I mention that Gerrit Cole is REALLY GOOD AT BASEBALL? Asking for a friend.
Cole was wheelin’ and dealin’ on the mound tonight, going 7 innings, just over 100 pitches, tallying 13 strikeouts, zero walks, while only allowing two runs in the process. Cole would also mark himself in MLB history tonight, being the first player in the history of the MLB to have three postseason starts with 12 or more strikeouts. He would also fall two strikeouts shy of tying the Yankees MLB postseason record for most strikeouts in a game, which was 15, set by Roger Clemens.
Alright, you probably get it by now, Gerrit Cole is kinda okay at this game. But the offensive star of the game for the Yankees will be shared by shortstop Gleyber Torres and left fielder Brett Gardner. The two would go on an absolute tear in the 7 and 8 spots in the lineup for the bombers, Torres going 4-4 with a two-run missile and 3 base hits, accompanied by a walk and 3 RBIs. While Gardner would go 3-4 with a two-run Gardy-bomb, a double and a single, with one strikeout.
Yeah, the Yankees are ready for this postseason.
Masahiro Tanaka will get the nod for the Yankees tomorrow as they face off against Carlos Carrasco for Game Two. first pitch is slated for 7:08PM. You can catch the game on ESPN, TBS, or 660AM.