Gio Urshela gives New York Yankees the lead with grand slam (Video)

Gio Urshela gives the New York Yankees a one-run lead in the fourth inning with a grand slam off Cleveland Indians reliever James Karinchak.

Gio Urshela, facing off against his former team in the second game of the Wild Card round, just gave the New York Yankees a one-run lead.

He unloaded on a fastball from Cleveland Indians reliever James Karinchak to get a quiet Yankees offense back on track.

Gio slams! Yankees take the lead #NYYforNY pic.twitter.com/NtiLrHyoCZ

— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) October 1, 2020

In a do-or-die game for the Indians, Urshela put the Yankees back in the driver’s seat with one swing.

After the weirdest start to a playoff game in the history of baseball, the Yankees fell behind early. Masahiro Tanaka struggled to get out of the first inning, allowing four earned runs in a rain-delayed inning.

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco, however, dismantled the Yankees easily, save a solo home run by Giancarlo Stanton.

Effortless. Giancarlo Stanton just chipping away at that lead… pic.twitter.com/MTHS8r7iR2

— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) October 1, 2020

Now, the Yankees have the lead and are just a few innings away from advancing to an American League Division Series matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays. Manager Aaron Boone can now unload his most effective relievers to stifle the Indians offense.

Of course, the Yankees bullpen hasn’t been as effective in 2020 as it’s been in past years. There’s still a very good chance the Indians can attack a middle reliever and retake the lead.

But Urshela’s grand slam puts all the pressure on Cleveland to live to play another day. That kind of pressure could lead to hitters trying to do too much and pitchers trying to be too perfect. If the Yankees take advantage of that, they could walk this one-run lead into the next round.