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I don’t know about you, but I thought this sure felt like a postseason game. The Yankees and Orioles traded short-porch homers in the early goings, then matched each other inning for inning with quality starting pitching, strong bullpen performances, and some dazzling defense. It all ended with 3-1 victory for the good guys.
We’ll have a full recap up shortly, but in the meantime, here are some highlights:
Winner of the Game
Gleyber Torres wasn’t in today’s starting lineup. Aaron Boone gave him the day off to rest, a way to keep his legs fresh after returning from hamstring and quad injuries. He still gets winner of the game honors, though, as he came in to pinch hit for Brett Gardner (himself a defensive replacement for Miguel Andújar) in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs and Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier on, Torres lined a double to clear the bases. The glasses that turned the season around.
#GlassesGleyber this season:
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) September 13, 2020
7-14 (.500)
3 doubles
1 HR
7 RBI
**since Sept 9**
Also, Tyler Wade hit a home run off a left-handed pitcher.
Seriously.
In the bottom of the third, he took John Means deep to the short porch. Something, something can’t predict baseball.
Honorable Mentions: J.A. Happ, the entire Yankees bullpen
Loser of the Game
I wanted to go with a positive, no losers game—especially for a Sunday after a four-game sweep. The bottom of the Yankees’ lineup, though, it’s a blackhole. Thairo Estrada has had non-competitive at-bats all year long, and there’s no way the team can expect Wade to actually hit. Today was the outlier, not the norm. Hurry back, Giancarlo Stanton and Gio Urshela.
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