The Yankees are moving on to Cleveland after coming from behind against a very game Minnesota Twins team in Tuesday's AL Wild Card. After falling behind 3-0 in the games' opening inning, this group of young Bronx Bombers showed why this playoff game would be different than playoff contests before this one.
Two years ago in this very spot, the Yankees lost to the Houston Astros. That would not be the case this time, even if the early results didn't look too good.
The Yankees need to give a lot of credit to Chad Green and David Robertson. Both relievers stymied the Twins in the middle innings, allowing the Yankees to grab the momentum back and ride it all the way to victory.
Green came in when the game was teetering on the brink. Yankees starter Luis Severino struggled in his postseason debut, allowing home runs to Brian Dozier and Eddie Rosario as the Twins jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
When Green came into the game, he was looking at runners on second and third with two out with Jason Castro coming to bat. Green overpowered Castro, striking him out to end the inning. Green would give the Yankees two solid innings of relief, allowing only one run and left with the game tied at four in the top of the third inning.
As for Robertson, he was masterful. The 3.1 innings of work Robertson gave New York was the longest outing of the season for him. His previous long was 2.2 innings on September 11 against Tampa Bay. He struck out five over his three-plus innings of work, and even induced a huge double-play ball on Joe Mauer with one out in the fourth inning to keep the Yankees up 5-4.
Without Robertson's effort, this game could have gotten away from New York. It didn't, proving that Brian Cashman made the right move bringing Robertson back when the Yankees reacquired him from the White Sox before the trade deadline.
Offensively, the Yankees teed off on Ervin Santana and reliever Jose Berrios. Didi Gregorious 3-run blast in the bottom of the first inning tied the game at three, sending Yankee Stadium into a tizzy. An inning later, Brett Gardner went yard for a solo shot off Santana to give the Yankees their first lead at 4-3.
New York would regain the lead in the third inning on Greg Bird's RBI single, scoring Gary Sanchez to make it 5-4. The Bombers put the game away in the fourth when Aaron Judge cracked an opposite field two-run homer to give the Yankees a 7-4 lead. It was Judge's first career postseason home run.
The Yankees had three home runs on the night, with Gardner, Judge and Sanchez all collecting multi-hit games. As for Gregorious, his home run was a continuation of his tremendous second half. In September alone, Gregorious had six home runs and 25 RBI, which was second only to Judge who had 15 homers and 32 RBI in the month of September. The fact that both players remain hot into October is a great sign for the Yankees.
With Minnesota now behind them, the Yankees turn their attention to the Cleveland Indians on Thursday. The defending AL Champions are heavy favorites to beat the Yankees because of the plethora of pitching they possess. Still, expect the Yankees to give them a run for their money in this series. This is a Yankees team that has nothing to lose, and doesn't know the meaning of postseason inexperience. This will be a tremendous fun to watch.
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