New York Bounces Back As They Top Cleveland

The first game of the four game series in the Bronx wasn’t even close as New York was blown out by Cleveland by a score of 19-5.

On Friday night however, the game was a lot closer as New York evened up the series.

The thirst for perfection that alternately drives and torments Masahiro Tanaka was on display at the dugout railing in the seventh inning on Friday, the hurler repeatedly rapping the knuckles of his pitching hand into the back of his cap. This, mind you, came after a solid performance. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Tanaka endured those anxious moments as he watched Tommy Kahnle record two big strikeouts, preserving his second consecutive strong effort. Utilizing his fastball, slider and splitter in concert, Tanaka led the Yankees back from a lopsided defeat in the series opener for a 3-2 victory over the Indians. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

"I think it kind of just came naturally," Tanaka said through an interpreter. "Definitely, I was really pumped up. We lost the game yesterday in the way that we did, so we definitely wanted to come back strong and get the 'W' tonight. I'm really glad that Kahnle was able to shut that down there." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Kahnle fanned both Jason Kipnis and Franmil Reyes to pin the potential tying run at second base, freezing Tanaka's line after the right-hander held Cleveland to solo homers off the bats of Jose Ramirez and Yasiel Puig. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

"I thought he threw the ball really well," manager Aaron Boone said of Tanaka, who improved to 2-0 with a 3.42 ERA in his last four starts. "Another sharp, big outing for him." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Securing their 27th consecutive season with a winning record, a streak that dates to 1993 and is second in Major League history only to their 39-season run from 1926-64, the Yankees peppered rookie starter Aaron Civale for three runs and eight hits over six innings. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Gary Sánchez and Gleyber Torres gave New York a quick lead with first-inning RBI singles and Puig misplayed Gio Urshela's fifth-inning hit, charged with an error as Aaron Judge raced home with the eventual deciding run. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

"With how many runs they put on us last night, we had to come out here early and make a statement," Judge said. "It started in the first inning with Masa, and then early we were able to get the two runs on them and just kind of rolled from there. Masa set the tone for us tonight; we just kind of fed off him." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Gift of grab
The Yankees loaded the bases with none out in the seventh but were turned aside by the well-traveled duo of Oliver Perez and Tyler Clippard, who leaned upon Puig's strong throwing arm from right field to twice pin DJ LeMahieu at third base. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Brett Gardner returned the favor in the top of the eighth, running down Francisco Lindor's drive to right-center field. Lindor's drive off Zack Britton rocketed off the bat at 100.2 mph and carried an expected batting average of .600, according to Statcast. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Judge said Gardner's catch "won us the game," and Boone said his initial thought was, "Oh no." But then Gardner seemed to have a beat on the ball, flagging it in front of the plexiglass windows separating the playing field from the Yankees' bullpen. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

"It was a big play," Gardner said. "If I don't get to it, there's no telling how the rest of the game unfolds." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Here comes the Judge
Mired in a slump that had seen him bat .148 (12-for-81) with a homer and four RBIs in his previous 21 games entering Friday, Judge showed positive signs of a breakout. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

His first-inning single to left field snapped a string of 11 hitless at-bats, and Judge lined out hard in the third inning before stroking a fifth-inning double. Judge also worked a walk in the seventh. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

"Any game you get a hit your first at-bat, it's usually a pretty good thing," Judge said. "It's tough to get two. I was just happy I could contribute tonight and get things rolling and we got the win. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Closing time
There were audible groans as Aroldis Chapman issued a five-pitch walk to Santana that opened the ninth inning, but the closer recovered to retire Puig on a popout before striking out Ramirez and Kipnis to seal his 34th save in 39 opportunities. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Boone said Chapman's fastball and slider both have been on point in his past four appearances, and Chapman said he relished the challenge of facing the heart of Cleveland's lineup. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

"Warming up in the bullpen, I knew I was going to face those guys," Chapman said through an interpreter. "The success of the task at hand and the mentality doesn't change. I wanted to be aggressive, I wanted to get ahead in the count and I was able to do that tonight." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/masahiro-tanaka-leads-yankees-vs-indians

Meanwhile Cleveland had their first setback in the series.

Cleveland dropped the second matchup in its four-game series with the Yankees, falling 3-2 on a warm night at Yankee Stadium. Although the summer weather was unmistakable, the tightly contested ballgame had an October feel to it. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

If Thursday's 19-5 blowout felt like an episode of Home Run Derby, Friday's game felt like a postseason preview, as both teams got solid pitching, made some superb defensive plays and landed a couple of timely hits. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

Then again, the Indians had only four hits in the game, three of them from the scorching-hot José Ramírez, who homered for the 15th time since June 30. Even worse for the Tribe, there was an error that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

Armed and dangerous
Yasiel Puig had an eventful night, throwing a runner out at the plate in the second inning, making a fifth-inning error that led to the Yankees' third run, then launching a solo home run against Masahiro Tanaka in the seventh. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

Puig's arm also came into play in the bottom of the seventh, when the Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out, only to waste the opportunity thanks to a pair of fly balls to Puig in right field that had New York third-base coach Phil Nevin holding up the runner both times. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

"I made good throws to the plate, keeping the runners on third base," Puig said. "The pitchers today did an amazing job. The offense was not the best today; we maybe hit too much last night. That's part of the game. Nobody expected this series was going to be easy for us. That's a good team that we're facing." “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

The Yankees plated a pair of early runs against rookie Aaron Civale, but Puig threw out Cameron Maybin at the plate to end the second inning when he tried to score on DJ LeMahieu's fly ball to right field. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

"Everybody knows in baseball that I can do that," Puig said. "I don't know why people keep running on me." “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

The Yankees weren't planning to run on Puig in the fifth when Gio Urshela singled to right field with Aaron Judge at second base. Nevin threw up a stop sign, but Puig botched the transfer from his glove as the ball squirted away from him, allowing Judge to score. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

"I don't know," Puig said when asked what happened on the play. "I don't have any idea. ... I made a mistake." “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

"He tried to be too quick with the transfer and it hit the heel of his glove," manager Terry Francona said. "He was [ticked], because he knows if he comes up, the guy doesn't even go." “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

Puig atoned for that miscue with a solo shot off Tanaka in the seventh, his 24th homer of the season and second since joining the Indians. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

Poised vs. pinstripes
Prior to Friday's game, Francona praised Civale for the poise he's shown during the first three starts of his Major League career. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

"Nobody knows what's going to happen, but if he does get beat up, it won't be because it was in New York," Francona said two hours before first pitch. "He's going to go pitch his game, and hopefully it's good enough to beat them, but if it isn't, it won't be because he was in awe." “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

The Yankees scored twice on four hits in the opening frame, but the 24-year-old seemed unfazed. The right-hander limited New York to only one unearned run over the next five innings, keeping the Tribe in the game until he handed the ball over to the bullpen with Cleveland trailing by one. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

"He didn't lose his composure; he stayed out there," Francona said. "That's a good lineup from top to bottom. He kept us in the game all the way until we took him out; he gave us a chance. That's a lot to ask of a kid, first time in Yankee Stadium. I thought he did a good job." “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

Civale, who hails from Windsor, Conn., about a two-hour drive northeast from Yankee Stadium, had several friends and family members on hand for his outing. There weren't many mixed emotions for them, however; like his mother, Civale grew up rooting for the Red Sox, not the Yankees. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

"I kind of took it all in," said Civale, who had never stepped foot in the ballpark prior to this week. "It's one of those stadiums you want to check off your list no matter who you are -- player or fan. It was pretty cool to be out there. Good atmosphere." “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

Great escape
Adam Cimber came into the game to start the seventh, but a double, walk and single loaded the bases with nobody out. The Yankees were threatening to break the game open as Francona called on Oliver Perez to help clean up the mess. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

Perez got Didi Gregorius to fly out to right field, where Puig's aforementioned cannon forced Nevin to hold LeMahieu at third. In came Tyler Clippard, who got Gary Sanchez to do the same, with LeMahieu remaining at third base once again. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

"I was rubbing his arm when he came in," Clippard said of Puig. "I was like, 'Thank you for your arm.' Most teams would have tried to run on it, but not his. It saved us a run there. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

"You have to respect his arm," Francona said. "[Nevin] was probably correct; both guys would probably have been out." “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

Gleyber Torres popped out to end the inning, leaving the Tribe's deficit at one run. “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

"In those situations, you really have to just focus one pitch at a time," Clippard said. "It's the most cliche thing and every baseball player says it, but that's the only way you can approach those situations. You have to focus on each pitch, try to execute it, not really worry about too much of the results." “according to https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/aaron-civale-duel-yankee-stadium

New York and Cleveland will continue their series on Saturday afternoon with game three of the series.