Gleyber Torres exploded in Game 1 of the 2019 ALCS, leading the New York Yankees to victory over the Houston Astros.
- New York Yankees 7 (1-0)
- Houston Astros 0 (0-1)
- ALCS, Game 1, Final, Box Score
- Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
This is why Brian Cashman traded Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs.
In Game 1 of the 2019 ALCS, Gleyber Torres put forth an absolute baseball show. His 3-for-5, one home run, five-RBI night paced the New York Yankees to a dominant 7-0 victory over the Houston Astros.
He first did it with the glove, early in the contest.
Gleyber Torres waits on the throw, gets it done from the ground. 0-0 in the top of the second. #NextManUp pic.twitter.com/NNtLVeorue
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) October 13, 2019
Then, an RBI double in the top of the fourth that scored DJ LeMahieu opened the scoring.
Gleyber Torres = 1-0 Yankees. #NextManUppic.twitter.com/TbaacBEHQb
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) October 13, 2019
Of course, that wasn’t all. His solo shot in the top of the sixth inning off Zack Greinke put the Bombers up 2-0.
Gleyber Torres CRUSHES a home run … Yankees lead 2-0 (#ALCS via @FOXtv). pic.twitter.com/gUg8XkzkeY
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 13, 2019
Then, a two-run single put the Bombers up 5-0, in full control of the game. He added his fifth ribbie on a groundout in the ninth. Gio Urshela accounted for the sixth run of the night, a solo shot in the ninth.
Not to be outdone, starter Masahiro Tanaka once again proved why he’s the team’s best October pitcher. His six innings of work yielded brilliant results: zero runs, one hit, one walk and four strikeouts.
Aaron Boone was faced with a test after the sixth inning: allow Tanaka to keep rolling (68 pitches) or go to his bullpen. He decided to go to Adam Ottavino who, although got himself into a bit of trouble, got out of it with an inning-ending double-play.
Zack Britton and Jonathan Loaisiga each took an inning to complete the team shutout.
Elsewhere, Giancarlo Stanton finally put himself on the big board with his first moonshot of the playoffs. It came two batters after Torres’s dinger.
The Giancarlo Stanton detractors will say this: "Classic momentum/pile-it-on home run."
They'll cheer, but they'll also keep that in the back of their minds. #NextManUp pic.twitter.com/Jfjm4KGuMo
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) October 13, 2019
Along with Stanton, LeMahieu and Aaron Judge finished with two hits apiece.
Other than Torres, the story of the night was the Yankees pitching completely shutting down the Astros bats. A meager three hits are all A.J. Hinch’s lineup could muster.
The red-hot Yankees now take a 1-0 series lead into Game 2 on Sunday. They’ll face Justin Verlander and throw southpaw James Paxton. First pitch is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET.
