Go-ahead homer by Torres leads Yankees to 2-1 victory against the Angels

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The Yankees took on the Los Angeles Angels on a beautiful Friday night in the Bronx with a sellout crowd of over 46,000. Luis Severino and Andrew Heaney faced off in a pitchers' duel, but Gleyber Torres was the difference maker in this game. His seventh inning solo home run led the Yankees to their 32nd win of the season by a score of 2-1. 
 
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
The Angels threatened in the first as Severino delivered back-to-back walks to Mike Trout and Justin Upton. However, veteran Albert Pujols hit into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning, leaving Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani waiting on deck. The Yankees went down quickly and quietly in the bottom of the inning.  

Gary Sánchez led off the bottom of the second with a single to Trout. Didi Gregorius just beat out a double play that was overturned after Aaron Boone decided to challenge the bad call. Andrew Heaney gave up walks to Aaron Hicks and Miguel Andújar, loading the bases for the hot-hitting Gleyber Torres. He hit an infield single to third; Gregorius scored, and Hicks was tagged out at the plate on his attempt to add a second run.   

Thanks to the arm of Aaron Judge, the Angels remained scoreless in the third. Torres missed a tough play in the field, allowing Kole Calhoun to reach via a single. It was a much-needed hit for the right fielder who is batting just .150 this season. Calhoun advanced to second on Sánchez’s eighth passed ball of 2018, which tied him with White Sox catcher Omar Narváez for the most in MLB. Trout walked for the second time today, followed by a single from Upton, but Judge delivered a perfect throw to Sánchez at 100mph, who tagged Calhoun out at home to keep the score in favor of the Yanks. 
 
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

Severino gave up his fourth walk in as many innings to Shohei Ohtani. Cozart hit a pop foul to the first base side, leaving Tyler Austin tumbling headfirst into the Yankees’ dugout. Luckily Austin wasn’t injured, but he could not come up with the play. Martín Maldonado struck out swinging for Sevy’s fourth strikeout of the game.  

The Halos tied the game in the top of the fifth on Trout’s 16th homer of the season. Severino was up to 88 pitches at the end of the inning. He did not have his best stuff on display, but it was more than enough to keep the Bombers in the game.  

 The Yankees were unable to answer back in the bottom of the inning despite a double launched to deep center by Andújar. With two outs, Brett Gardner singled on a ball that bounced off of Heaney’s glove. Judge walked to load the bases, but Giancarlo Stanton popped up to the first baseman in foul territory, spoiling a fantastic opportunity to reclaim the lead.  

Chad Green replaced Severino in the seventh. Maldonado hit a barely-fair ball on the first base line in right field, but another powerful throw by Judge to tag him out at second prevented any damage.  

Things changed for the Bombers in the bottom of the seventh when Torres clobbered a home run off of Jim Johnson, who came in to relieve Heaney after 6.1 innings. This was Gleyber’s ninth home run this season. He is also the youngest player in American League history to hit a home run in four straight games. The future is bright for this Baby Bomber!  

David Robertson entered the game, hoping to rebound from an awful outing during the Yankees’ 12-10 loss against the Rangers on Wednesday. Robertson recorded two outs to start the frame but walked Upton and Boone did not want to take any risks. He brought in Aroldis Chapman for a four-out save to face Ohtani, who has not fared well against LHPs. Boone made the right move, as Ohtani grounded out to Gregorius on five pitches.  

Chapman returned to pitch a flawless ninth inning, retiring Simmons, Cozart, and Maldonado in order. Just like that, the Yankees had taken game one.  

The Good: Judge made two amazing plays in the field, Torres continues to mash home runs, and Chapman got the job done with a four-out save.  

The Bad: Didi’s slump continues. His batting average has fallen to .246 in just a few weeks. 

Winning Pitcher: Chad Green (3-0, 2.42 ERA) 
Losing Pitcher: Jim Johnson (2-2, 4.05 ERA)  

Notables: 
NYY 
Torres: 1-for-3, HR (9), 2 RBI  
Severino: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 SO (ND) 
 LAA 
Mike Trout: 1-for-2, HR (16), 2 BB  

What’s next? 
Sonny Gray takes the mound for game two of three in this homestand against the Angels. Gray has had a less-than-stellar season thus far but pitched eight innings of one-run ball in his previous start. In addition, 1B Greg Bird is expected to be activated from the DL on Saturday after recovering from ankle surgery. Rookie Jaime Barria will pitch his sixth game of the season for the Halos; he is 3-1 with an impressive 2.13 ERA. Tomorrow’s game is set to begin at 7:15 PM EST. Tune in to watch on FOX.  

Article by: Isabella Anton

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