What began with a long rain delay evolved into a wild back-and-forth affair Wednesday night at Progressive Field. The New York Yankees eliminated Cleveland with a gutsy comeback victory in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series (NYY 10, CLE 9). The game featured multiple comebacks and multiple lead changes. It was a thriller.
New York advances to the ALDS, where the team will take on the AL East rival Rays in the Southern California hub.
The start of Game 2 was a total mess. First pitch was delayed 43 minutes because of incoming weather and it never rained. The tarp was on the field but not a single rain drop. The match eventually started but it didn't last long. Heavy rain arrived in the bottom of the first and forced another delay, this one 33 minutes.
The Yankees will play the Rays in a best-of-five divisional series next week in San Diego.
New York went 2-8 in a tough season streak with first-seeded Tampa Bay winning the AL East by seven games versus the second-seeded Yankees.
“They’ve been the best team in our league all year, so we’re excited to play the best team and hope to be able to work our way with them,” stated Boone.
LeMahieu, the AL batting champion in the shortened 60-game regular season, punched his strike down center to score Gio Urshela, who struck a grand slam earlier and made a huge defensive play in the third goal.
“It was one of the best games I’ve played in my life,” said Urshela.
Down 9-8, the Yankees tied for ninth on the sacrifice of Gary Sanchez off Hand, who finished 16 of 16 in stoppage tries during the season but was stung by a market.
The Yankees were astounding last week. But their hard-hitting line-up took place over two nights in a cold, nearly empty Progressive Field. New York defeat Cleveland ace Shane Bieber in Game 1 and now the Yankees, who have hit seven home runs in the series, have found their swing as the calendar turns to the month that defines them.
“We probably got people’s attention,” Boone said. “We haven’t done anything yet. It was just a stepping stone. ”
Chapman got the last six strikeouts for the triumph, helped by a spectacular play from Urshela to start a late-inning double play in the eighth which kept a one-inning game. The Indians got the potential first-point equalizer in the ninth on a strikeout past the ball with two outs before Chapman hit pinch hitter Austin Hedges.
