Surrounded by the feverish atmosphere of Yankee Stadium, Gerrit Cole strolled to the pitcher's mound and began his pitching today with a 97 mph inside fastball, sending Astros' batters away in order in the first inning after just seven pitches.
In the VIP suite of Yankee Stadium, Brian Cashman, the architect of the Cole trade, nodded in satisfaction: although the Yankees nearly emptied their farm system of top prospects to acquire Cole, based on his performance since arriving in New York, the trade has proven to be quite worthwhile.
Having joined his childhood's favorite team, Cole quickly demonstrated his exceptional qualities as the 2011 draft's top pick, imdiately securing a fixed spot in the Yankees' starting rotation with his excellent performance — considering Tanaka Masahiro's inconsistent stability and Sabathia's noticeable aging, this trade has undoubtedly secured the Yankees' future.
Of course, one aspect is the dominance of Cole's pitching; today's ga went smoothly also thanks to the Astros' cooperation:
Trailing 0-3 in the series, the Astros seed ready to concede, with neither the players' spirits nor their on-field performance resembling that of a hundred-win team;
Especially the already declining state of the outfield lineup, even though players other than Springer were adjusted to later batting positions by the Astros coaching staff, yet they still couldn't change their downward spiral.
anwhile, in desperation, Astros' head coach A.J. Hinch decided to take a risk by letting ace pitcher Dallas Keuchel pitch on three days' rest, and his decision was soon proven to be a big mistake by the Yankees' batters:
In the bottom of the second inning, two outs, with bases empty, Starlin Castro caught Keuchel's mis-pitched inside fastball in the red zone, sending the ball deep into central field at Yankee Stadium; the baseball bounced back into the field after hitting the ho run wall, resulting in a double.
Imdiately after, Greg Bird, who hit three hits in this series, pulled Keuchel's 90 mph breaking ball to the right side of the field; although Astros' outfielder responded quickly, he still couldn't stop Starlin Castro at second base from scoring at ho — once again, in the opening stage of the ga, the Yankees' offense rewrote the score!
In this series, whether Astros' mound was occupied by Cy Young-level Dallas Keuchel or Justin Verlander, or a slightly inferior pitcher like Charlie Morton, the Yankees could always take the lead over their opponents, which is the primary reason for their 3-0 lead against the Astros.
And after the scoring account was opened, the Yankees' aggressive offense that could defeat any pitcher rose again: In the bottom of the second inning, one out, Lin Guanglai was walked to first base by the Astros once again, but Aaron Judge imdiately hit a fast ground ball down the third-base line from Dallas Keuchel.
Astros' third baseman Bregman failed to catch the ball, and the baseball rolled all the way from the infield to deep left field — this unexpected hit completely disrupted the Astros' defensive formation, with left fielder Marwin Gonzalez stationed near central field rushing back for defense.
Seizing this opportunity, Lin Guanglai at first base fully utilized his speed advantage, sprinting down the infield line in the deafening cheers of over 50,000 fans; just when people thought he would stop at third base, Lin Guanglai kept running towards ho plate with big strides.
Marwin Gonzalez quickly threw the ball back towards ho plate, however, at the sa ti as Astros' catcher Brian McCann received the ball to try tagging Lin Guanglai, the tall Lin Guanglai lowered his center instantly, leaping forward to touch the third-base bag before McCann could apply the tag.
"Safe!" The umpire spread both arms, signaling no issues with this play.
"The Yankees score again! The gap expands to 2-0!"
In YES Network's live room, Yankee die-hard Michael Kay was barely able to contain his grin, "The Yankees have demonstrated their determination to advance to the World Series today, especially with their baserunning decisions, which are flawless!"
"Look at the youthful smiles on these young faces; they are genuinely having a blast — I really am falling in love with this team!"
Not just Michael Kay in the studio, in fact, the entire Yankee Stadium, the whole Bronx, and even all of New York were in a complete frenzy because of tonight's New York Yankees:
Fans at the stands hugged each other uncontrollably regardless of whether they knew the person next to them or not; in bars, golden beers were sprayed into the air, landing on people; even in Madison Square Garden, the basketball holy land where the NBA was ongoing, a separate screen was dedicated to live images for the Yankees.
And soon, the ho-team players in striped jerseys once again ignited their ho field and the whole Big Apple City with their fierce offensive coordination:
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lin Guanglai and Aaron Judge as the first and second batters were consecutively walked to the bases with four balls, and as the fourth batter, Gary Sanchez soon used a long hit to the left side of the field to bring Lin Guanglai from second base ho, securing the Yankees' third score;
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