Yankees Thump Indians, Giolito Flirts With Perfect Game In Playoff Openers

Yankees thump Indians, Giolito flirts with perfect game in playoff openers

Los Angeles, Sept 30 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Sep, 2020 ) :The Yankees thumped the Cleveland Indians 12-3 in the opening game of their American League first round playoff, as Gerrit Cole struck out 13 over seven innings and New York's batting order was just as overpowering.

Gleyber Torres, Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge all blasted two run homers and Giancarlo Stanton launched a solo shot for the Yankees, who recorded their largest win in a playoff opener in franchise history.

"We were able to stick to our strengths," said Cole. "You could feel the energy hanging on every pitch, regardless of the score. I like the way our guys brought the intensity." Judge hammered a tone-setting home run off the fourth pitch by Cleveland starter Shane Bieber as the Yankees seized a big lead early in the contest, which came on the first day of the Major League Baseball's playoffs after a coronavirus-shortened season.

Game two of the best-of-three series is Wednesday.

"In playoff baseball you have got to keep the throttle down," said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. "We had really good at bats up and down the order, and it made it really tough on a great, great pitcher." - 'Unreal, unreal' - Indeed, New York got to AL Cy Young Award favorite Bieber early. Bieber surrendered a career-high-tying seven runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings in his postseason debut.

It was nothing like his first eight starts this season where Bieber gave up just seven total earned runs.

Torres's two-run blast highlighted a four-hit, three RBI performance and Cole allowed just two runs on six hits without surrendering a walk.

Cole's only blemish was Josh Naylor's solo home run in the fourth.

In December, free agent and former Houston Astro Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with New York.

Just two months before that, Cole had posted a 4-1 record with a 1.72 ERA in five playoff starts for the Astros.

Elsewhere, Chicago White Sox ace Lucas Giolito delivered one of the longest perfect game bids in league playoff history, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning of a 4-1 win over the Oakland A's.

Giolito allowed just two runs and struck out eight for the White Sox in the opening game of their best-of-three AL wild card series.

"Unreal. Unreal to watch. Unreal to be behind him," shortstop Tim Anderson said after the game. "He put the work in. When you set yourself apart to put the work in and want to be a superstar, you want to be that dominant.

"The work is showing. Happy for him and hopefully he can keep it up and continue to grow as a player and as a person. He's our guy. I expect nothing but that from him." Making his playoff debut, Giolito retired the first 18 batters he faced until Tommy La Stella slammed a single up the middle to lead off the seventh inning.

- Twins' playoff loss record - The White Sox ace allowed just one run and also walked one batter in the eighth inning. He was taken out after he allowed a single to A's batter Jake Lamb in the eighth.

Left-handed pitcher Aaron Bummer eventually came on and preserved the 4-1 lead by getting La Stella to ground out to shortstop to end the eighth inning.

Closing pitcher Alex Colome got three straight A's batters out in the ninth to record the save.

Giolito, who is just the fifth pitcher ever to take a perfect game into the seventh inning of a playoff game, threw a no-hitter in August against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Elsewhere, former Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Toronto and unheralded Manuel Margot homered as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Blue Jays, 3-1, in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Top-seeded Tampa Bay scored a run on a fourth-inning wild pitch and got a two-run homer from Margot in the seventh to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Snell struck out nine batters and finished with 5 2/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit ball. He left the game in the sixth after Alejandro Kirk broke up his no-hit bid with a leadoff single.

Relief pitchers Diego Castillo, Nick Anderson and Pete Fairbanks allowed just one run the rest of the way.

Also, Astros star Jose Altuve walked with the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth inning to score the winning run as Houston beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-1.

The Twins have now lost an MLB record 17 straight playoff games.