My oh my! Last night was a game that’ll go down in Yankee history. To recap, the Yankees were massive underdogs heading into Game One, going against the pitching triple crown champion and possible AL Cy Young winner, Shane Bieber. Suddenly, people had forgotten about the $324M man, Gerrit Cole, and thought we had no chance. Boy, we’re they wrong or what. This team came in swinging!

Game Recap:

DJ reached on base with a single, and Judge crushed a SOLO HR on the first pitch! This was a quick shift in the game and won it for the Yankees. There was no pressure on Cole because he now was a 2-0 lead, and he did his THING! He ended the game with 7 IP, 2 ER, 13 Ks, and 105 pitches! What a statline! This is what the Yankees paid $36M a year for! All aboard the COLE TRAIN! As usual, the Yankee offense kept rolling with astonishing performances from Gleyber, Gardner, and everyone! This was the resurgence of GleyberDay! He had a 2 Run HR, RBI single, and much more. Gardy also brought the party and had an RBI double, walk, and many hits. The offense was electric! They wrecked the “best pitcher on earth,” and as I said, took him out before the 6th inning. This was quite the performance by the Yankees! They started hot, and Cole never gave up the lead. He may have allowed two runs; one HR, but he got the win, and that’s all we needed. I wasn’t the biggest fan of starting Gardner over Frazier, but I guess the computer was right this time.

Takeaways:

Positives:

1. GleyberDay Resurgence: Gleyber is now looking like his old self instead of this imposter that has played for him this season. Once he and Gary get going, this Yankee offense with be unstoppable!

2. Gardy Party??: Gardner was given the start over Frazier because the analytics said he was the option. He did well and surprisingly made plays. He has been hot lately, but Frazier should get the start in Game Two.

3. Streaky Stanton: The former NL MVP is quite streaky. He started the game awful but ended well with a solo shot HR. He always gives those little peaks of greatness and chokes it away with Ks and pop-ups. I hope he can get something going like Judge did early on. We can use those two big bats in the lineup.

4. Everyone is rolling: The entire team has been sparked with an energy I haven’t seen this year. They are getting base hits instead of relying on the HR so consistently. They seem happy and want to win. I’m impressed by this club and can’t wait to see what the future holds in store.

5. We. Beat. Bieber!: This pitcher for the Indians, Shane Bieber, is the guy everyone has been raving about, and I don’t see why. He threw some excellent pitches but couldn’t get the job done when he needed to; if we can beat a guy like Bieber, that easily imagine what we’ll do throughout the postseason. Good luck, Baseball.

Negatives:

1. No, Miguel Andújar: I’m not too fond of this adjustment, and I was afraid they’d do this. Before Miggy was sent down to the alternate site, he was hitting his stride and looked unstoppable. However, Boone doesn’t like young talent and wants to play guys like Grandpa Gardner over him. Andújar is easily a 30 HR and 100 RBI guy; he should’ve had a role in this playoff team.

2. Deivi Garcia won’t pitch a Game Three scenario: I don’t like this! Deivi has shown that he doesn’t get nervous, and big games don’t get to him. J.A. Happ, who would start a game two, is a known playoff choke artist. He is not significant in the postseason and when there is pressure. They should’ve given it to the rookie pitcher. Hopefully, this doesn’t go to three.

Game Two Preview:

It is Tanaka Time in Cleveland! The Yanks will have to face Carlos Carrasco, a good pitcher, but if the Yanks can take on Bieber, that’ll be a breeze. I think Carrasco will quiet us in the beginning, but we’ll get our opportunity and strike to win this one throughout the game. I’m not worried about the pitching one bit! Tanaka is ice cold during the playoffs with a postseason ERA of 1.76! That is a clutch! Now he can pitch freely because it’s not an elimination game, so I’d expect the best Tanaka. He is also playing for a new contract, so he needs to play well. I’m confident with what the Yankees got here in Game Two. I expect big things, and we should all. This team is off to a great start, and hopefully, it ends in a WS Celebration in November in the Bronx!

Where to Watch:

When: 7pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Where: Indians have home field advantage
Network: ESPN (Channel 570 on Fios), fuboTV and on MLBTV
Broadcast (Audio): WFAN, WADO, and WTAM

Predictions:

Me (@jd_5BD on twitter): Yanks 5-1
Marcin (@G0LDEK16 on twitter): Yanks 6-4
Matt (@MeloWRLD7 on twitter): Yanks 6-2
Wens (@5BDwens on twitter): Yanks 7-0
Julian (@BLMKuz on twitter): Indians 7-5