Yankees Forget Their Bats In New York, Shutout By Indians

Well that didn’t go as planned.

The New York Yankees fell to the Cleveland Indians 4-0 in Game 1 of the ALDS.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled program, to bring you the inner monologue of a Yankees’ fan:

“3?? 3 GODDAMN HITS?! That’s all you could come up with?? WHAT THE HELL?! Man, I stayed up past 10 o’ clock for this, the least you could have done was score A run. They didn’t even have their best pitcher on the mound!! Now we’re really screwed!!”

Thursday night’s pitching matchup, Sonny Gray vs. Trevor Bauer, was the topic of conversation heading into Game 1. Indians Manager, Terry Francona, opted to start Bauer rather than Corey Kluber, against conventional wisdom. Boy does he look like a genius today. Bauer was lights out!! He made a potent Yankees’ lineup look pedestrian.

Bauer’s Performance: 6 and 2/3 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 8 strikeouts, and 1 walk

What you may not realize, is Bauer has been one of the best pitchers in the league following the All-Star Break. Since July 21st, Bauer is 10-1 and brought his era down from 5.59 to 4.19. He has 2 primary pitches, fastball and curveball. His masterful curveball was on full display Thursday night. It starts high, looks like a fastball out of his hand, and drops off the table at the last second. He had the entire Yankees’ lineup befuddled, especially Aaron Judge. Mr. Judge earned himself a ‘Golden Sombrero’ last night (4 strikeouts in 1 game).

As for Sonny Gray, he wasn’t good. He was wild, walking 4 batters in 3 and 1/3 innings. And he didn’t have an answer for former Mets’ slugger, Jay Bruce. Bruce had himself a day, going 2 for 3 with 3 rbi’s. I’ve always said, the best career move you’ll ever make is leaving the Mets….

There’s never a bad time to take a cheap shot at the Mets is there?

Anyway, the Yankees don’t have time to make fun of the Mets. With Game 2 less than 12 hours away, they need to get focused. Devising a plan to score a run against Corey Kluber wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Facing Kluber, the AL Cy Young Award favorite, is no walk in the park. He is a strikeout machine, who averaged 7 innings per start this season. Check out his amazing stats here.

The Yankees’ countermeasure is CC Sabathia. CC had a great year, considering he’s 97, but I’m not sure he’s the answer here. At this point in his career he’s clearly outmatched by the Indians’ lineup, Corey Kluber, and virtually everyone in the ballpark, but the hope is his age and experience can counteract the countless obstacles staring him in the face.

Maybe this is the optimistic Yankees’ fan in me talking, but sometimes things happen in sports that make no sense. CC Sabathia outdueling Corey Kluber and mowing down a solid Indians’ lineup would be one of those things.

Crazier things have happened.

Sorry heart. Today, brain has prevailed.

Indians 5, Yankees 3   

You can catch the action at the odd time of 5:00 P.M. EST on MLB Network.

 

Who do you think will win Game 2?? Post your prediction in the comment section below.

 

You can now find me on the Radio too. Download the TuneIn Radio App and search OWWR. I’ll be on live every Wednesday from 6:10 P.M. – 8:10 P.M EST. I also broadcast every show on Facebook Live via my DaveTalksSports.com Facebook Page: http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports .

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like my page on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. You can also Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading!! Now go tell all your friends!!