Miguel Andujar
Robby Sabo, ESNY Graphic, Getty Images

The New York Yankees use the long ball to knock off their postseason foes in the first game of a three-game set in the Bronx.

  • Cleveland Indians: 6 (17-15)
  • New York Yankees: 7 (22-10)
  • FINAL, American League, Box Score
  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Coming off of their hottest road trip in years, the New York Yankees know there is no place quite like home. Not just for the short porch, but the entire atmosphere.

If the Indians thought that the Bombers were going to cool down, they were sorely mistaken. The Bombers lived up to their name by blasting three home runs, including Gleyber Torres’ first major league home run. While the game ended up tied heading into the bottom of the ninth, the rookie Miguel Andujar got a bloop to win the game.

Let’s see how it all went down.

R2C2:

We all know the popular podcast featuring Star Wars fanatic Ryan Ruocco and starter CC Sabathia. Fittingly, on May 4, Sabathia was the one to take the mound against his former team.

Harnessing the power of the force, Sabathia put together a dazzling performance, going 6 innings and allowing three hits. Plus, he struck out seven batters in his impressive performance.

Great news coming from the 37-year-old lefty. Hopefully the rest of the season will have much of the same for Sabathia and the Yanks.

Gley-Bay-Bay:

We thought that Gleyber Torres had his Yankee moment in Houston with his game-tying two-run single. No, he was saving that for his home crowd in the Bronx.

Torres blasted his first career home run off a 73 MPH curveball from Josh Tomlin. That home run was a three-run shot to put the Yankees on the board against the reigning AL Central champions.

But that wasn’t the end of the home run parade…

Judge me!

Aaron Judge couldn’t let Gleyber Torres get ALL the attention so he followed up Torres’ shot with a solo shot of his own on his own Jedi bobblehead night. He took a low pitch and crushed it to left for his eighth of the season.

Don’t forget about me!

And how could we forget about the home run hero Gary Sanchez? The catcher couldn’t be left out of the conversation too as he added a solo shot to make the score 5-0 Yankees in the bottom of the fifth.

For Sanchez’s ninth of the season, he took a high pitch and let it fly, soaring into the left field bleachers. Nothing can stop these New York Yankees, right?

The Comeback:

Uh oh. With one swing of the bat in the top of the eighth inning, the Indians closed the gap on the Bombers quickly. Bradley Zimmer took Chasen Shreve into Monument Park for a three-run home run to bring the Indians within two runs.

Well, that’s okay. There’s still a two-run lead. Not anymore, as “Cupcake” Jose Ramirez tied the game with his own two-run shot with one out. That one came off of David Robertson, whose reaction gift-wrapped fans with the latest gif.

The bottom of the eighth started with Aaron Hicks striking out swinging and the 2-for-3 Neil Walker coming to the plate. Walker stayed true to his name and worked a walk before being cut down at second on a fielder’s choice. Torres followed up a good night with another single to set the Yankees up at first and second with two outs.

Brett Gardner loaded the bases while working a five-pitch walk to bring up Aaron Judge in the most pivotal moment of the game to this point.

Walk me home:

All the home runs were fun to watch, for sure. But Aaron Judge got the walk instead with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to force in the go-ahead run.

So, with a one-run lead, here comes Aroldis Chapman. Chapman got into some trouble early, allowing Yan Gomes to reach on a single with no outs and Bradley Zimmer to get on with a hit by pitch. After a wild pitch to Francisco Lindor allowed the runners to advance with one out, Chapman ended up blowing the save with a wild pitch that allowed Gomes to score from third.

Onto the bottom of the ninth we go.

Giancarlo Stanton led off the inning with a booming double to right-center to set up the rest of his lineup. With Aaron Hicks sending Stanton to third with two outs and Walker taking first on a walk, Miguel Andujar got the bloop single to drive in the game-winning run.

What’s Next:

Tune in for the second game of the series on Saturday afternoon, when the Yankees send Sonny Gray to the mound to help the Yankees win their fifth game in a row. Gray is 1-2 on the season and had his best start last week against the Houston Astro, allowing two runs on four hits in six innings of work. Hopefully things are on the way up for Gray.

The Indians counter with conspiracy theorist Trevor Bauer who has been spending more time picking fights on Twitter than cheering on his own teammates. Bauer has a 2-2 record on the season with a 2.45 ERA.

The game can be caught on the YES Network and heard on WFAN 660/101.9 FM or WADO 1280.


Allison is just a girl with an enormous passion for the game of baseball and the written word. Based in Upstate New York, her life-long relationship with the New York Yankees is something that she developed through close relationships with her mother and grandfather. An aspiring sports writer, she graduated with a journalism degree and is finding places to share her excitement about the sporting world and how it affects us all.