Let’s be real. The Yankee victory last night in an elimination game in the post-2001 era was a bit of a surprise. This is the game that they would typically lose unless CC Sabathia happened to be pitching. For SU, I am conditioned for a Phil Hughes type of outing: 4 innings, 4 runs, 4 walks, etc. Fall behind early and lots of mindless at bats and strikeouts.
Jordan Montgomery came up huge. Of course, Boone could not wait to get him out of the game for his relievers and he had guys on base every inning but he showed poise, avoided the home run ball and had a catcher who could block the ball in the dirt. What a concept. Green was good but had to warm up several times so he is likely not available tonight which would be his 3rd game in a row. Britton was very sharp and should have finished the 8th inning instead of bringing in Champan there. SU says think about that move: if Chapman struggles to get the 3rd out in the 8th and has to throw a lot of pitches, you have no-one to back him up in the 9th inning and he could have ended up throwing a lot of pitches which messes him up for tonight’s game. Britton was pretty much unhittable and had not thrown many pitches.
The bottom line is that Boone is an “over-manager.” He cannot help himself and just does not have good instincts for the in-game moves.
Cole goes on 3 days rest tonight and the Rays are putting out their own 100-mph pitcher, Glasnow, on 2 days rest. Interesting. For the hitters, the 7 pm start time means the first hour will be in the shadows. They say guys pitching on short rest generally have their velocity but lack “command.” That means sometimes they may not be throwing the ball where they intended it to go. SU can’t imagine that hitters will be dug in there at the plate.
The key for the Yankees is to have Cole go 6+ innings to get to Britton and Chapman. Garcia could be available for an inning or maybe even Happ just to fully torture Yankee fans and allow Twitter to explode.
It would be nice to see Aaron Judge hit a ball hard. He has been lost but as we know in baseball, sometimes it’s one swing that gets you untracked (unless you are Gary Sanchez).
MLB cannot be happy to see the cheating Astros advance to the ALCS for the 4th year in a row. They have avoided the boos t his year due to COVID. The Dodgers are a machine although the Braves look great as long-time SU subscriber, P. Bok, commented yesterday. That should be a good series for best of 7.
A Yankees – Astros rematch would be fun. But winning tonight will be a tall order. Cole is a stud but the Rays have seen him multiple times this year and have hit several home runs off of him. SU is hopeful but not confident. But glad to have a game 5 on a Friday night.
SU will predict a Yankee win: 5-4 with a torturous 9th inning by Chapman.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
It was really a great game. Felt more like playoff baseball than the HR filled games we’ve been seeing. And, even with a decent lead, who didn’t feel anxious when Chapman came in and walked the first batter?
So they’ve come up with the advertising location that makes me forget how annoyed I am by the Nike swoosh on the jerseys. It’s the virtual ads placed on the pitcher’s mound. Who wants this? Does an advertiser really want they’re logo associated with a literal pile of dirt?
I was rooting for the Rays but marginally so, and here is my takeaway from last night: I COULD NOT BELIEVE that Giancarlo kept his bat on his shoulder the entire at bat in the ninth inning. I know the 2-0 pitch was probably a ball, but the 2-1 pitch hung over the inner half and he could have crushed it, and for him to take the 2-2 pitch was inexcusable. I’ve been more pro Stanton than SU, but all the good he did this offseason in my mind gets wiped out by that at bat.