That is the baton pass the Yankees envisioned.
Six-plus innings of solid, if not special, pitching from Carlos Rodón. Fernando Cruz escaping, roaring, jumping and pounding his way off the mound. Devin Williams inducing the bottom ball he needed and de-batting Red Sox batters. David Bednar showing no nerves in nailing down an October save.
The Yankees bullpen, a bunch that entered October under scrutiny and bent in Tuesday’s Game 1 loss, bounced back in preserving what became a 4-3 victory Wednesday in The Bronx that forced a Game 3.
“We just happened to have a foul moment in September like everybody does,” Cruz said of a bunch that had struggled. “But everybody knows who we’re and the way we operate. We have now a very, really good unit.”
None more passionate than Cruz.
The righty inherited a two-on, none-out jam within the seventh in a tie game.
He first got a break, Ceddanne Rafaela popping up a bunt for an out, before getting Nick Sogard to fly out. Masataka Yoshida sent a tough ground ball up the center that second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. knocked down. He was not in a position to record an out but did prevent at the least one run from scoring.
“That was the sport right there,” said Cruz, who then watched Trevor Story launch a deep fly out to center, prompting a celebration that can be seen for a long time if this Yankees season ends with a victory.
Facing center field, he bounced his way toward the plate because the ball was within the air. When ball hit glove, he shouted and commenced pounding his chest. He did a 180-degree spin to face the dugout and unleashed a fist pump that may have knocked out anyone within the vicinity. He strutted his method to the dugout, where manager Aaron Boone joked he “almost got out of his way.”
“That is something that I’ve been dreaming [about], that I’ve been imagining since I used to be slightly kid,” said Cruz, a 35-year-old from Puerto Rico. “I’m an emotional guy. I’m captivated with what I do, and I really like what I do. I really like doing it for my guys. And it’s time to make that known.”
Those that followed Cruz’s lead did so effectively, if comparatively quietly.
Williams allowed a leadoff single to Alex Bregman within the eighth, which fearful fans who had watched the offseason pickup implode too persistently in a season that ended with a 4.79 ERA.
But he was in a position to get Nathaniel Lowe to ground right into a double play before unleashing an air-bending changeup to Carlos Narváez, who whiffed and helicoptered his bat and nearly struck Nate Eaton within the on-deck circle.
“He has just stacked numerous good outings and just pitching with numerous confidence, but getting within the zone more and having a presence with each pitches,” Boone said of Williams, who’s pitching his best at the fitting time of the season.
Next got here Bednar, who together with Luke Weaver had allowed runs that loomed large within the Game 1 loss. However the closer struck out two before watching Rafaela’s deep fly ball to right fall into Aaron Judge’s glove along with his back to the wall.
“Never a doubt,” Bednar said with a smile after his first profession playoff save.
He has pitched two days in a row and expended loads of pitches and energy. How a few third?
“Absolutely,” Bednar said.
That is the baton pass the Yankees envisioned.
Six-plus innings of solid, if not special, pitching from Carlos Rodón. Fernando Cruz escaping, roaring, jumping and pounding his way off the mound. Devin Williams inducing the bottom ball he needed and de-batting Red Sox batters. David Bednar showing no nerves in nailing down an October save.
The Yankees bullpen, a bunch that entered October under scrutiny and bent in Tuesday’s Game 1 loss, bounced back in preserving what became a 4-3 victory Wednesday in The Bronx that forced a Game 3.
“We just happened to have a foul moment in September like everybody does,” Cruz said of a bunch that had struggled. “But everybody knows who we’re and the way we operate. We have now a very, really good unit.”
None more passionate than Cruz.
The righty inherited a two-on, none-out jam within the seventh in a tie game.
He first got a break, Ceddanne Rafaela popping up a bunt for an out, before getting Nick Sogard to fly out. Masataka Yoshida sent a tough ground ball up the center that second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. knocked down. He was not in a position to record an out but did prevent at the least one run from scoring.
“That was the sport right there,” said Cruz, who then watched Trevor Story launch a deep fly out to center, prompting a celebration that can be seen for a long time if this Yankees season ends with a victory.
Facing center field, he bounced his way toward the plate because the ball was within the air. When ball hit glove, he shouted and commenced pounding his chest. He did a 180-degree spin to face the dugout and unleashed a fist pump that may have knocked out anyone within the vicinity. He strutted his method to the dugout, where manager Aaron Boone joked he “almost got out of his way.”
“That is something that I’ve been dreaming [about], that I’ve been imagining since I used to be slightly kid,” said Cruz, a 35-year-old from Puerto Rico. “I’m an emotional guy. I’m captivated with what I do, and I really like what I do. I really like doing it for my guys. And it’s time to make that known.”
Those that followed Cruz’s lead did so effectively, if comparatively quietly.
Williams allowed a leadoff single to Alex Bregman within the eighth, which fearful fans who had watched the offseason pickup implode too persistently in a season that ended with a 4.79 ERA.
But he was in a position to get Nathaniel Lowe to ground right into a double play before unleashing an air-bending changeup to Carlos Narváez, who whiffed and helicoptered his bat and nearly struck Nate Eaton within the on-deck circle.
“He has just stacked numerous good outings and just pitching with numerous confidence, but getting within the zone more and having a presence with each pitches,” Boone said of Williams, who’s pitching his best at the fitting time of the season.
Next got here Bednar, who together with Luke Weaver had allowed runs that loomed large within the Game 1 loss. However the closer struck out two before watching Rafaela’s deep fly ball to right fall into Aaron Judge’s glove along with his back to the wall.
“Never a doubt,” Bednar said with a smile after his first profession playoff save.
He has pitched two days in a row and expended loads of pitches and energy. How a few third?
“Absolutely,” Bednar said.
