The Boston Red Sox made the MLB Playoffs, and as a reward, they get to face their rival, the New York Yankees. The first game was a duel between some of the top lefties in the game. However, it was Garret Crochet who got the last laugh.
“The 117th and final pitch of Garrett Crochet's night went 100.2 mph, tied for his fastest of the season. He finished with 11 strikeouts, didn't walk anyone and exits with a 2-1 lead for the Red Sox. The first playoff start of Crochet's career was brilliant,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote.
Another big name in the game was Masataka Yoshida, who came up with the go-ahead hit. After the game, he shared his thought process walking up to the plate.
“He kept throwing changeups to Sogie (Nick Sogard),” Yoshida said through translator Yutaro Yamaguchi. “So I was kind of thinking that he might throw something hard and kind of up and in. I just wanted to be aggressive from the first pitch and I was able to do that.”
Yoshida was a huge offseason addition just a few years ago.
“The Red Sox completed a productive final day of the Winter Meetings by making an international splash, acquiring the corner-outfield bat they needed in Masataka Yoshida,” MLB.com reported.
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However, Yoshida had yet to make the playoffs until Tuesday. In his first postseason game, he set MLB history when he put his team ahead.
“Masataka Yoshida of the Red Sox is the first player in MLB history to have a go-ahead hit with his team trailing on the first pitch he ever saw in his postseason career,” Opta Stats posted.
Yoshida’s clutch hit could very well have earned him a spot in the lineup for Game Two on Wednesday. The Red Sox just need one more win to knock off their rival.
The clutch performance from Yoshida might be the moment in the series that sucked the life out of the Yankees. If that moment didn’t do it, then the Yankees’ failure to get a hit with the bases loaded in the ninth inning very well might have.