Gerrit Cole didn't pitch like an ace. Aaron Judge did nothing against his postseason demons.
Of the Yankees' big three stars, only Juan Soto appeared in the first playoff game in 2024.
The Yankees won anyway, as some of the most maligned players of the season — Clay Holmes, Gleyber Torres, and especially Alex Verdugo — stood up and made a tense Division Series opener a disappointment for the No. 1 American League team. Because I stood up so that I wouldn't become something else. 1 seed
The 6-5 victory was no work of art. That was enough to take the lead in the best-of-five, helped by strong relief work, great outfield defense, and a crucial two-run hit late in the game by left-handed pitcher Austin Wells in the sixth inning and left-handed Verdugo. . The go-ahead hit in the 7th inning.
Let's start with the bad. Cole allowed three runs in five innings. It was worse than that. He had eight hits over 100 mph and 11 over 95, tied for the most against a right-handed pitcher since records began in 2015. It could have been worse, but the Yankees' outfielders — Soto, Judge and Verdugo — were each different. Made an above-average limit-the-damage play.
Judge batted .211 in 44 playoff games, striking out in exactly one-third of his at-bats. That's the missing piece on his resume — excelling during this period while helping the Yankees win championships. And he soon had the chance to do just that.
In the bottom of the first inning, Torres walked and Soto got the first of three hits, a double near the left field line. The 48,790 people in the stadium rose to the possibilities of that moment. Part of the storyline of this series will pit Judge, the AL MVP hopeful, against Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., the likely runner-up. Then, in the top of the first inning, Judge made a spectacular running catch to prevent Witt from hitting a double. Probably triple.
But again, the judge struck out at the chance to make an offensive comment. And the stage was set for him and the Yankees. Judge was 0-for-4 with a strikeout. The Yanks achieved 2 hits for 13 with runners in scoring position, but were unable to score in the first inning.
However, in this game, the Yankees who held back will have the say.
Torres hit a two-run homer to right in the third inning, which only went over the fence of one ballpark (this one), giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead. In the next half inning, MJ Melendez also hit two runs off Cole, making the game just one stadium home run and putting Kansas City ahead 3-2.
Boone allowed Cole to start in the sixth inning with a 4-3 lead against Yuli Gurriel, who walked 11 pitches before Melendez's homer. Gurriel smashed the ball into the wall and Verdugo made a great play to keep it to just one point. Tim Hill came on, and with one out, Anthony Volpe slid his knee to right and hit wide to second base, making an error that put runners on second and third base. Pinch hitter Garrett Hampson hit a double to give Kansas City a 5-4 lead.
Boone then called for Holmes, but Holmes' arrival did not excite the crowd. Holmes lost his role as a closer and the goodwill of fans this season. However, he helped the Yankees stabilize this game by not allowing a run from the 6th inning. Wells, who is batting .197 this year against left-handed batters, then struck out Judge on the corner and got one out, then hit southpaw Sam Long with a single over right, putting a runner in scoring position and giving the Yankees the lead. I hit. He scored Verdugo, who started the inning with a walk.
Coach Boone spent the past week debating whether to start Verdugo or Jason Dominguez on the left side and felt Verdugo would be better defensively. His efforts paid off, especially with a sliding catch near the left field line that ended the fourth inning with a two-run lead, giving Kansas City a 3-2 lead.
But even when he got on base in the seventh inning of a 5-on-5 game, Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled and stole second, Volpe struck out, Oswaldo Cabrera struck out, then hit a single and walked. Verdugo singled to left, giving Chisholm the winning run.
Luke Weaver, who removed Holmes as the closer, had four ups, four downs and three strikeouts to determine the outcome. The Yankees defeated a team from the Central Division of the American League again during this period.
But in this case, it wasn't done by star power. The Yankees took a one-game lead, despite their public enemy booing from booing to booing.
