The New York Yankees marched into Minute Maid Park with one goal on their minds: win game one and put the pressure on the Houston Astros. The Bronx Bombers stood true to this goal and have now taken a 1-0 lead in the ALCS.
Masahiro Tanaka, who has been an electrical force throughout most of his starts in the postseason, rose to the occasion on Saturday night. He pitched six marvelous innings, allowing one hit and striking out four batters on 68 pitches. Yes, only 68 pitches through 6 innings of work.
The bullpen, which consisted of Adam Ottavino, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Zack Britton, pitched a combined three innings, allowing two hits and striking out two batters on 39 pitches.
Gleyber Torres had an explosive night in the batter’s box, going 3 for 5 with 5 RBI and one home run. Torres started the entertainment by driving in an RBI double to left-center field in the top of the 4th, granting the Yanks with their first run of the game.
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Aaron Judge, who went 2 for five on the night, also executed a gorgeous play in the bottom of the 5th. After a great running catch, Judge rocketed the baseball to DJ LeMahieu and doubled off a sleeping Alex Bregman.
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Torres came back to haunt Zack Greinke in the top of the 6th, blasting a 320-foot solo shot to left field. Shortly after, Giancarlo Stanton demolished a 406-foot solo bomb to right-center field, extending the Yanks lead to 3-0.
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Yet again, Torres came in clutch with another impressive at-bat in the top of the 7th. With the bases loaded on a 3-2 count with two outs, he punched a 2-run double into shallow right-center field, extending the Yanks lead to 5-0.
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At the top of the 9th, Gio Urshela smoked a 361-foot solo homer to the right field. The 7th and last run for the Yankees was recorded by no other than Torres, who drove in an infield RBI, extending the Yanks lead to 7-0.
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With game number 1 in the hands of the Yankees, there is still unfinished business left to take care of. The magical number is now seven, and the pressure has been put on the Astros.