After losing four games in a row, the New York Yankees were desperate to win a game. Tonight was the final game against the Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees already had lost the first series since they lost a series against the Red Sox in July. Tonight they hoped to salvage the last game of the series with Yankee Ace Gerrit Cole on the mound against the inexperienced Packy Naughton. Naughton had only pitched 5 innings in the majors, two games both lost by the Angels. The Yankees won the game 4-1, with a brilliant 15 strikeout night for Gerrit Cole.
In the first inning, Naughton faced DJ LeMahieu leading off for the Yankees; he had a lead-off single up the middle. Anthony Rizzo hit into a double play after the Yankees had five hits into double plays last night. Aaron Judge singled to left. Luke Voit flew out to Judge in right. Gerrit Cole took the mound at the bottom, David Fletcher tapped back to Cole. Shohei Ohtani stuck out swinging. Phil Gosselin struck out for the 1-2-3 inning for Cole. No score.
In the second inning, Joey Gallo led off by towering out to second. Kyle Higashioka struck out. Rougie Odor struck out swinging to end the half. Jared Walsh led off the bottom by doubling to the center-field wall. Justin Upton struck out. Brandon Marsh ground out with Walsh moving to third. Max Stassi ground out to short to end the inning. No score.
Andrew Velazquez led off the third by grounding out to second. Brett Gardner ground out to first. LeMahieu walked. Rizzo up with two outs singled, moving LeMahieu to third base. Judge walked, loading the bases. Voit singled, driving in two Yankees runs. Gallo ground out. Adell in the bottom ground out to third. Jack Mayfield struck out swinging. Fletcher got a single to center. Ohtani struck out on a Cole fastball. New York Yankees 2 Angels 0.
The fourth inning was led off by Higashioka, who struck out. Odor got on base with a drag bunt. Velazquez ground out with Odor taking second base. Gardner singled to center, driving in Odor for another Yankee run. LeMahieu faced new Angels pitcher Andrew Wantz and ground out to short, but the Yankees picked up a run. At the bottom, Gosselin stuck out. Walsh struck out. Upton struck out for a strikeout of the side for Cole. Yankees 3 Angels 0.
Anthony Rizzo led off the fifth by flying out to left field. Judge struck out swinging. A pitch hit Voit. Gallo faced the new Angels pitcher Jose Quijada ground out to first. In the bottom, Marsh struck out for Cole’s fifth straight strikeout. Stassi struck out. Adell flew out to Gardner in center. New York Yankees 3 Angels 0.
Kyle Higashioka led off the sixth inning by going down on strikes. Odor ground out to short. Velazquez went down swinging. At the bottom Mayfield single just out of the reach of Gallo in left. Fletcher doubled to left-center, driving in Mayfield for the first Angel run. Ohtani, with a man on second and no outs, struck out swinging. Gosselin struck out. Walsh struck out. Yankees 3 Angels 1. Fletcher drove in the only Angel run.
The seven-inning was scoreless for both teams. The Yankees Gerrit Cole went a full seven-inning with 116 pitches. He allowed four hits, and one earned run with a season-high 15 strikeouts in the game and no walks. At the top of the eighth inning, Aaron Judge led off with a monster solo home run into the left-field stands. New York Yankees 4 Los Angeles Angels 1.
Andrew Velazquez led off the ninth inning by grounding out to second base. Gardner flew way out to the left-center at the wall. DJ LeMahieu ground out to short, going down in order. At the bottom, Ohtani led off against the New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and flew out to shallow center for the first out of the inning. Gosselin ground out to second. With the last licks on the line for the Angels, Walsh ground out softly to short to end the game and stop the Yankee’s skid.
The final score was the New York Yankees 4 and the Los Angeles Angels 1. The winning pitcher was Gerrit Cole, his 14th of the season. The loser was Packy Naughton. Aroldis Chapman got his 25th save of the season. This game was all about Gerrit Cole and his dominant performance and 15 strikeouts in the game.