Yankees Highlights: Five key moments from a Game One victory

Well that was fun! The Yankees pulled off a big win, taking Game One of the ALDS from the Twins by a score of 10-4. While ours highlights posts have traditionally presented winners and losers of the game, it feels like we should change it up for this postseason victory. Instead, consider five of the key moments of the game, plus the win-probability chart.

Three runs in the third

The Yankees found themselves in a hole early on Friday night. After falling behind 2-0, they had work to do in the third inning. The Bombers exited the frame ahead, however, thanks to a wild sequence of events. To the play-by-play!

ESPN

DJ LeMahieu’s hit came on a bloop, while Aaron Judge’s was a legitimate single up the middle. Edwin Encarnacion smoked his second double of the night to get the Yankees on the board before Giancarlo Stanton worked a walk. Gleyber Torres then banged into a fielder’s choice that ended up with C.J. Cron whiffing on a ball at first base. When all was said and done, the Yankees had a 3-2 lead.

Torres’ two-run double in the fifth

Torres again came up big, this time with one out and bases loaded in fifth inning. The 22-year-old smacked a double down the left-field line to score two runs. The ball actually clanged off Miguel Sano’s glove. This play broke a tie, giving the Yankees a 5-3 lead.

DJ dingers in the sixth, clears the bases in the seventh

With the Yankees’ lead down to just one run in the sixth inning, LeMahieu gave the Bombers some insurance. The first baseman crushed New York’s first home run of the postseason to make it a 6-4 game.

LeMahieu then stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the seventh, and he ripped a double to score them all. That blew the game open for the Yankees, running up the score to 10-4.

Let Brett bang

Noted power-hitter Brett Gardner went yard himself, just two batters after LeMahieu’s homer.

That’s why he’s batting third, folks.

Judge flashes the leather

Your honor, I submit two pieces of evidence that will prove Judge is an exceptional defender.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I rest my case.

Chart

FanGraphs