Judge's blast sets tone for Yankees' outburst

It was a sequence that Gerrit Cole described as “a left jab and a right hook,” as DJ LeMahieu laced a leadoff single to right field and Aaron Judge slugged the fourth pitch of the ballgame over the wall in right-center field.

That one-two combo seemed to stun Shane Bieber onto his heels. The Yankees kept swinging, inflicting the type of damage that no other team has managed this year against the right-hander while posting a 12-3 victory over the Indians in Tuesday’s Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series.

“It’s a special feeling, especially against a guy that is most likely going to win the Cy Young [Award] this year,” Judge said. “I knew that DJ was going to get on for me, and if I got a mistake, don’t miss it. I just wanted to set the tone for what we’re going to do this postseason.”

Game	Date	Result	Highlights
Gm 1	Sept. 29	NYY 12, CLE 3	Watch
Gm 2	Sept. 30	NYY 10, CLE 9	Watch

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The Yankees acknowledged Bieber’s impressive credentials in their pre-series chatter, recognizing that the 25-year-old righty had registered the MLB pitching Triple Crown by leading the Majors in wins (eight), ERA (1.63) and strikeouts (122).

Yet they did not blink, carrying great trust in their own half of the pitching matchup -- Cole struck out 13 in an electric seven-inning performance -- and the knowledge that though Bieber dominated his opponents in the AL Central and the National League Central, he had yet to face the Bombers in 2020.

“We had a long hitters’ meeting about sticking to the same plan, trying to work long counts,” Judge said. “That’s when this team is dangerous, when we go out there and grind out at-bats. Any mistakes that are thrown up there, we hammer them.”

Judge had not homered since Aug. 11 and produced only one extra-base hit in 36 at-bats after returning from a right calf strain on Sept. 16, prompting some concern about the slugger’s power.

Any questions seemed to be answered when he connected for a 399-foot drive off Bieber, carrying an exit velocity of 108 mph according to Statcast. Tuesday’s blast marked Judge’s ninth home run in 28 career postseason games.

“Aaron going deep to give us the lead, knowing we’ve got Gerrit going -- it’s a great start to the night,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But you also realize it’s playoff baseball and you’ve got to keep the throttle down. We did a great job of that.”

Luke Voit made it a three-run lead with an RBI double in the third inning, while Brett Gardner and LeMahieu contributed run-scoring hits in the fourth. Gleyber Torres highlighted a four-hit, three-RBI performance with a two-run homer in the fifth that chased Bieber; Torres’ drive came off the bat at 103.3 mph and traveled 412 feet.

“I was really focused tonight,” Torres said. “During the last couple of days in my room, I watched videos of the pitchers. When I came to the field, I prepared myself really well.”

The seven runs allowed by Bieber were four more than he allowed to any other team this season. It was a forgettable postseason debut for Bieber, who did not retire the side in order in any of his 4 2/3 innings. The outburst represented an important flip for the streaky Bombers, who lost six of their last eight regular-season games.

“We are a team that competes every night,” Torres said. “The mentality we have right now is: 'The regular season is over. This is the postseason.'”

When Torres added a run-scoring single in the seventh, Judge caught his attention from the first-base dugout, pointing to the general area of his left wrist. Asked about the gesture, Judge revealed that Torres had been lobbying for the team’s clubhouse belt, which is passed around to the most valuable player of each night’s game.

“I was trying to tell him, ‘Hey man, we’ve got a lot of ballgame left,’” Judge said. “We’re just having some fun there. When G.T. is doing his thing, he’s one of the best baseball players in the game and he’s 23 years old.”

Gardner and Giancarlo Stanton added late homers to the 15-hit attack; the Yankees became the first team in postseason history to have their No. 7 and No. 8 hitters (Torres and Gardner) both have three or more RBIs in the same game, according to STATS.

“A lot of guys did their homework,” Judge said. “Even me, I was staying up late to watch a lot of video on their bullpen guys. We just came out and executed our plan. We got mistakes over the plate and didn’t miss.”