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Game 121 Recap: West Coast Turnaround

For a better part of the new millennium the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have had the New York Yankees’ number, with a few memorable postseason series victories under their belt as well as a continued stance of being a thorn in their side. Such was not the case on Friday night as the Yankees’ arrival proved more hellish than heavenly for the lowly Halos who have been mired in misery even with possession of Mike Trout, baseball’s best player.

Two stories unearthed themselves on Friday night in Orange County in the 7-0 victory for the Yankees. The first was the long ball, which was utilized early and often by the Bombers to put runs on the board. By early, we mean really early as outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury led off the game with a home run, the first of that kind all season for the Yankees. The Yankees would club four long balls with none being more unlikely than the second one to take flight on the night. Ronald Torreyes smacked his first-career home run in the top of the fifth off veteran hurler Jered Weaver. Torreyes entered the night slugging just .308 in 84 plate appearances and by night’s end popped it up to .390 after a 4-for-4 night at the plate that included the long ball, two singles and a double.

The other two homers would be served up to Didi Gregorius and Brian McCann. The Yankees used the long ball effectively but also amassed four doubles on the night with two coming from the hot-hitting Baby Bomber Gary Sanchez who already has five in his short time up in the bigs. Gregorius and the aforementioned Torreyes were the others to hit two-baggers, as the seven extra base hits made up for nearly half of the 15 hits that the Yankees tagged against the Angels in the victory.

The second story coming out of this one was the performance of Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka had proven himself to be the ace of the staff over the course of the season but Friday night’s outing may have been the best he’s spun all season. Tanaka cruised with brilliant efficiency against the Angels lineup, putting them on their heels and allowed not a single extra base hit all night. He fanned nine batters in his 7.2 innings of work and threw merely 100 pitches.

Friday night certainly could not have gone better for the Yankees, who improve to 62-59.

The Play: Ellsbury kickstarts the game (WPA+ .105)

There’s nothing quite like starting the game with a jolt, and that’s what Jacoby Ellsbury did when he took Jered Weaver deep on the third pitch of the ball game. As fate would have it, no play would be more impactful than Ellsbury’s leadoff homer, and sometimes, that’s just the way it goes. When it happens to you, you know things are going right.

Notes

– Via Katie Sharp, Tanaka made history after completing the outing:

Given how many great pitchers the Yankees have possessed over the years, that’s quite the accomplishment.

– Another factoid from Sharp:

Indeed, Tanaka’s performance is worthy of great praise, especially when you are only grouped with one starting pitcher in the entire American League.

– Five Yankees had multi-hit games on Friday night vs. the Angels with three knocking three hits or more.

– The Yankees went 3-for-7 with RISP and picked up three 2-out RBI, dished out by McCann, Gregorius and Torreyes.

The Highlight: Torre-yes, yes yes!

The first home run tagged by Torreyes in his career kept the Yankees in the driver’s seat and sent some shockwaves of the pleasant variety around the team and the fanbase. It was certainly a career night for the youngster, and you’d be crazy not to tip your cap to him. Have a day, Torreyes.

Up Next

The Yankees stint in SoCal continues with another late night game on Saturday night. On the mound for the Bombers will be Luis Cessa (2-0, 5.30 ERA) and he will be opposed by Ricky Nolasco (4-10, 5.13 ERA). You can find the game on PIX 11 in the NY Metro Area and out-of-market viewers will be able to watch the game on MLB Network.

Photo: Kelvin Kuo/USA Today Sports; Video: MLBAM

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