ALDS Game 1
Yankees 0
Indians 4
The Cleveland Indians hosted the New York Yankees in the first game of the American League Divisional Series. The Indians had Trevor Bauer on the mound to face Sonny Gray, a pitcher that they Yankees picked up at the trade deadline.
Indians Offense
http://gty.im/858054318
The Indians drew first blood in the bottom of the second, but it could have been worse for the Yankees. Jay Bruce led off the inning with a double high off the wall in left-center field. Carlos Santana followed that with a single to center, moving Bruce to third. Gray hit the next batter, loading the bases with nobody out. Roberto Perez worked Gray to a full count before he hit into a 6-4-3 double play, and Bruce scored on the play.
All was quiet until the bottom of the fourth. Edwin Encarnacion led off the inning with a walk. Two pitches later, Bruce hit a two-run home run to extend the lead to 3-0. A couple more walks ended Gray’s day, and he finished with 3 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks in 3.1 innings pitched. Adam Warren came in and managed to get the last 2 outs without surrendering a run.
Bruce was at it again in the bottom of the fifth. Jose Ramirez led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Warren got Encarnacion to fly out to left for the first out before Jaime Garcia came in to relieve him. Bruce drove a fastball to center deep enough to drive in Ramirez and give the Indians a 4-0 lead.
Bauer’s Masterpiece
Meanwhile, Bauer had yet to give up a hit through five innings. The only baserunner that Bauer had allowed to that point was a second inning two-out walk to Greg Bird. The Yankees finally touched him up with a hit when Aaron Hicks drove one to the wall for a one-out double. Hicks would move over to third on a ground out, but was stranded there when Aaron Judge struck out.
Bauer got the first two batters he faced in the seventh inning, but then he gave up a single to Starlin Castro. Andrew Miller came in and struck out Bird swinging to end the inning. Bauer pitched 6.2 scoreless innings giving up just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 8.
Relievers Shut It Down
http://gty.im/858078540
Miller and Cody Allen completed the shutout as the Indians won Game 1 4-0. The Yankees just could not get the bat on the ball. Five of them had 2 or more strikeouts, including 4 for Judge. The Indians relievers racked up 6 strikeouts in just 2.1 innings. In fact, none of the fielders were involved in making an out when the relievers were in. The only non strikeout was a line drive off the bat of Gary Sanchez that Allen caught for the first out of the ninth.
Up Next
The two teams face each other Friday at 4:00pm Eastern on the MLB Network.