After a struggle that ended with a walkoff, Yankee Fans really wanted a laugher against the Kansas City Royals last night. At first, it looked like we weren't going to get it.
Gerrit Cole pitched like an ace for the 1st 4 innings, and was backed by a home run by Anthony Rizzo in the 1st, and another blast from Aaron Judge in the 3rd inning. It made Judge the 3rd Yankee to have 40 home runs on a season before July ran out. The 1st 2? Babe Ruth in 1927, when he finished with 60; and Roger Maris in 1961, when he finished with 61.
But after getting the 1st 2 outs in the 5th, he allowed 4 straight singles and a home run. A 3-0 lead became a 5-3 deficit. Online, the naysayers (including some Yankee Fans) began saying that Cole is no ace, that he can't pitch without "the sticky stuff." In fact, I've been saying this long enough that I can now issue a Cliché Alert: If it hurts the Yankees, it's allowed; if it helps the Yankees, it's "cheating."
And then... Cole struck out the side in the 6th inning. Cliché Alert: He suffered from one-bad-inning-itis. Cliché Alert: It happens to the best of them.
Aroldis Chapman pitched a 1-2-3 7th. Albert Abreu pitched a scoreless 8th. And then... Cliché Alert: You want to put a crooked number on the scoreboard. Something higher than the round zero (0) or the straight one (1). The bottom of the 8th didn't start off like a come-from-behind inning, as Judge struck out.
But Rizzo singled. So did Gleyber Torres. Josh Donaldson reached on an error that loaded the bases. And Andrew Benintendi got his 1st Yankee RBI. Cliché Alert: Welcome to Yankee Stadium. Aaron Hicks drew a walk to force home the tying run. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled home a run. Jose Trevino grounded out, but that got another run home. DJ LeMahieu drew a walk to load the bases. That brought Judge up again. Multiple Cliché Alert: Boom. Call the deli, it's a grand salami. Holy cow, he golfed that one. (Phil Rizzuto.) He tomahawked that ball, no doubt about it. (Bill White.) How about that! (Mel Allen.)
When the inning began, according to Baseball-Reference.com, the Yankees had an 11 percent chance of winning the game. When it was over, they'd scored 8 runs. Cliché Alert: That's what I like to see.
Wandy Peralta walked the leadoff man in the 9th. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. He allowed a single, too. Other than that, he struck out the side to end it. Yankees 11, Royals 5. WP: Abreu (2-0). No save. LP: Scott Barlow (4-4).
That's 41 for Judge, putting him on a pace for 66. Today is Old-Timers' Day, and in a pregame interview, one YES Network correspondent, Meredith Marakovits, interviewed another, David Cone, asking him how, as a pitcher, he would handle Judge, and he said, "Is first base open?"
There's no Old-Timers Game this year, but at least COVID protocols have relaxed enough that they can have an Old-Timers Day this year, whereas they couldn't in 2020 or '21. As for the regular game, at 2:05, Nestor Cortes starts against Jonathan Healey. Come on you Pinstripes, do the Old-Timers proud!