Gerrit Cole, Franchy, & Yankee Bats Shred Guardians. NY 11 Cleveland 2

The Yankees made up for their disappointing 3-2 loss of the night before, by shredding the Guardians with their bats, while Gerrit Cole allowed 2 runs in the 1st, but then settled down and pitched shutout ball the rest of the way through 7 innings. Just like Shane Bieber had done to NY the night before.

The result was an 11-2 bashing by NY that tied the 3 game series at 1-1; rubber game at 1pm Wednesday.

Franchy Cordero had the big hit for NY — a 3-run bomb in the 3rd that turned a 3-2 NY lead into a 6-2 rout. NY only had 2 extra base hits — the Cordero homer and a double by Anthony Rizzo; but NY slashed 11 singles — 13 hits in all — and worked 3 walks.

“Gerrit gets popped in the mouth there in the 1st inning and then just takes control of the game and gives us 7 strong innings,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards. “And everyone in the order played a role — up and down — Trevi got us going with a good basehit the other way, Hicks at the bottom with a couple of hits, but (everyone) up and down, meaningful contributions.”

NY improves to 7-4. The only bad news to the evening was that Tampa won yet again — they are now 11-0 to start the year.

1. Cole an Ace

Gerrit Cole got off to a rough start, allowing a game-leadoff single to Steven Kwan, an infield single to Andres Gimenez, and an RBI double to Jose Ramirez — making it 1-0 Cleveland, with 2nd and 3rd nobody out. Josh Naylor hit a sac fly to make it 2-0 before Cole got a strikeout and groundout to end the inning.

And then — like all great pitchers before him (including Shane Bieber the night before) — Cole settled down. In the immortal phrase about aces — “If you don’t get to him early, you won’t get to him at all” — Cole motored through the Guardians lineup, retiring the side in order in the 3rd, 5th, and 6th. He allowed a walk in the 7th but immediately got a double play to end the inning.

Cole’s line: 7 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 K’s — and the win to go 3-0 1.40. Could this be the year that Cole finally gets his much deserved first Cy Young?

Cole attributed the early hits to his fastball not having the usual velocity at the start, which caused him to go to his breaking ball. “Kwan got the one fastball out of there, and Ramirez did a good job,” said Cole about his fastball. “I just had a good feel for the breaking ball, so just rolled with what was good. We spotted the fastball when we needed to as the game went on, and I think it actually got better.”

2. Yankee Machine Gun Attack

Down 2-0 the Yank batters immediately got to work against Hunter Gaddis in the top of the 2nd — a 1-out single by Oswaldo Cabrera and a 2-out RBI single by Jose Trevino sliced the Cleveland lead to 2-1.

In the top of the 3rd, DJ LeMahieu led off with a double, and after an Aaron Judge strikeout, Anthony Rizzo was hit on the foot with an 0-2 pitch to make it 1st and 2nd. Gaddis later said that his breaking pitch got away from him and it was a big turning point — as he had Rizzo in the hole but now it was 1st and 2nd, 1 out.

Gleyber Torres then worked a 7-pitch walk and Willie Calhoun fouled off 3 pitches with 2 strikes on him, and ripped a single up the middle for a tie game 2-2.

Oswaldo Cabrera hit a sac fly to make it 3-2.

3. Franchy with the Big Bomb

And that’s when Franchy Cordero stepped up — 2 outs, runners on 1st and 2nd — and hit a 3-run bomb to right for a 6-2 Yankee lead.

4. Franchy’s Story

Franchy Cordero was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2012 as a 17-year-old shortstop, and rose to being theΒ #10 prospect in the San Diego Padres organization in 2018. He was moved to being an outfielder in the minors and by 2020 was known for his power bat, blinding speed on the basepaths, strong outfield arm, but poor outfield defense.

He was traded to Kansas City in 2020, and after a 38-at-bat season there, was traded to the Red Sox before the 2021 season. He played two seasons with the Red Sox as a reserve — last year slashing 8-29-.219 (.300 OBP) in 242 at bats. He became a free agent this winter, and signed with Baltimore, but was released by them at the end of Spring training.

“Good dude; great vibes,” said Cole about Franchy. “Positive. Plays hard, and lays the wood. It’s been fun to watch.” Cole added: “I’ve pitched against him a couple of times; was definitely aware of the power. He’s never had a real shot to kind of get settled, so really looking forward to seeing what he can do with it.”

5. Yanks Continue Attack

The Yanks weren’t done — in the 4th, Aaron Hicks, LeMahieu, and Judge all hit singles to lead off the inning — loading the bases with nobody out and sending Gaddis to the showers.

Anthony Rizzo singled in a run off reliever Tim Herrin, and Gleyber Torres hit into a double play for another run and an 8-2 NY lead.

In the 6th, Hicks led off with a single, Judge singled with 1 out, and Rizzo drilled one over Gonzalez’s glove in right for a long single — driving in Hicks.

Judge later scored on a wild pitch for a 10-2 NY lead.

In the 9th, Rizzo led off with a walk, Gleyber Torres singled him to 3rd, and he scored when Calhoun hit into a DP.

6. Abreu Finishes

Albert Abreu pitched the 8th and 9th for NY — allowing a hit in each inning but pitching shutout ball, retiring Gonzalez on a ground ball for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401471182

 

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