Yankees force a Game 5, but it took their best relievers to do it
SAN DIEGO — At least the Yankees will get the matchup they want. With a solid start from Jordan Montgomery, strong bullpen work behind him and home runs from Gleyber Torres and Luke Voit, the Yankees survived another day with a 5-1 win over the Rays in Game 4 of the American League Division Series played at Petco Park.
After a season of battling each other on the field and in each others heads, the Yankees’ and Rays’ weird coronavirus pandemic 2020 season will, of course, come down to one game in a nearly empty ballpark used as a set for the television broadcast thousands of miles away from either of their homes.
The Yankee will turn the game over to Gerrit Cole, who will be pitching on short rest for the first time ever in his professional career. The Rays are likely to start their ace as well, Blake Snell, who the Yankees beat in Game 1.
It took a near-perfect effort for the Yankees to even get to Game 5.
Luke Voit broke out of his 1-for-11 slump to hit his first career postseason home run to the second deck in left-center field. Gleyber Torres hit a towering two-run homer off the Western Metal Supply Co. building in the sixth.
Brett Gardner, who had two singles, scored on DJ LeMahieu’s sacrifice fly in the second. Kyle Higashioka, starting his second straight game in place of Gary Sanchez, singled in Torres in the eighth.
The bullpen was solid.
Chad Green pitched two perfect innings, Zack Britton pitched 1.2 scoreless and Aroldis Chapman, who last saw the Rays when he was challenging their dugout to a fight Sept. 1, came in with two outs in the eighth to strike out the Rays’ rising superstar Randy Arozarena. Chapman got the four outs to finish off the game.
It was nearly perfect execution, but it came at a cost.
The Yankees have now used all their high-leverage relievers, but were able to moderate their workload with Green throwing 24 pitches, Britton 22 and Chapman 23. With Cole pitching on three days’ rest after throwing 97 pitches on Monday night, they will need to have pitchers ready to back him up.
Rays manager Kevin Cash didn’t have to use his and will have a well-rested bullpen on Friday night.
The Yankees didn’t expect to be in this situation.
After investing in starting pitching last winter, giving Cole a record $324 million deal to shore up their rotation, the Yankees’ lack of starting pitching depth was exposed. They took big hits with Luis Severino going down with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in February and then having James Paxton suffer a strained flexor in his left forearm in August.
They also burned two starters in Game 2, in a spectacularly failed attempt to piggyback J.A. Happ with Deivi Garcia.
So, in their first win-or-go home game of the year, the Yankees were down to their most inconsistent starter.
In his only start against the Rays this season, Montgomery had not even gotten out of the first inning, having allowed two home runs and four earned runs in .2 of an inning.
Montgomery was all the Yankees could ask for.
Having not pitched since Sept. 24, Montgomery was sharp and effective in his first ever postseason appearance. He went four innings allowing one run on three hits. He walked three and struck out four.
He worked into a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the third and got out of it allowing just the one run.
While everyone had focused on the jam the Yankees found themselves in Thursday, Boone saw the potential.
“He’s a really good pitcher. I think he’s had a really good year for us. You know, a couple of starts here and there, that skewed his line from how good he’s been all season,” Boone said. “If he can own his delivery and dictate counts, he’s a guy that’s very difficult to hit. We’ve seen it all year, the weak contact, the swing and miss he gets out of the zone.”
Thursday night, Montgomery rewarded Boone’s faith and gave the Yankees at least one more day.
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