For eight innings, the Yankees and Rays played a closely contested affair. The pitcher’s duel between Gerrit Cole and Blake Snell didn’t go quite as expected, but both pitchers kept it close and New York held a slight edge heading into a battle of the bullpens. Then the ninth inning happened, and the Yankees blew the game wide open.
The ALDS begins in favor of New York after a 9-3 victory, and the Bombers are two games away from a return to the ALCS. Things theoretically get tougher from here, with the Yankees ace unavailable until a hypothetical Game Five, but the success that the team had against the stables is a promising start.