We asked our writers to share what they believe was the turning point in Game 4 of the ALDS last night.
Here are their thoughts:
Patrick Gunn – The turning point in game four was the final out of the top of the sixth inning. Manuel Margot took a Chad Green fastball deep to center field. However, his game-tying home run bid died on the warning track. It’s hard to pinpoint one particular moment for this game, because Jordan Montgomery and Green stepped up and threw six lock-down innings to keep the Yankees in front for Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman. I’ll single out that moment for signifying their performances – minimizing damage and keeping the Rays in the ballpark.
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Mike Whiteman – The turning point of last night’s game was Gleyber Torres’ towering two run home run, which extended the Yankees lead to 4-1, providing some needed breathing room. With a rested back end of the bullpen available, I started feeling pretty good about the chance of a game five with Gerrit Cole on the mound.
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Ed Botti – In my view the turning point of game 4 was in the top of the third, second and third, no outs. Higgy blocked 3 balls in the dirt that could easily have resulted in 2 runs. Each one was tougher then the next. Monty got out of it. End of inning, 2 -1 Yankees.
They played tough the rest of the way. Added on, and survived for a game 5 winner take all.
Higgy gets the belt tonight!.
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Paul Semendinger – The turning point came when Randy Arozarena grounded out to end the Rays’ threat in the top of the third inning. The Yankees had just taken a 2-0 lead (but it could and should have been more) and the Rays came right back with a run of their own. In a 2-1 game, with runners on second and third and two outs, Jordan Montgomery got Arozarena to ground out to end the threat, the inning, and keep the Yankees’ slim lead. If Arozarena had delivered a hit there, it’s highly likely that the Yankees would have lost the game.
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Andy Singer – Not to undermine the fantastic job Monty did on the mound, but the turning point in this game was Green’s hitless, shutout appearance in the 5th and 6th innings. We’ve all worried about the Yankee bullpen, and Green’s appearance allowed the Yankees to turn to their best two relievers to secure the win in innings 7-9. As good as Monty pitched, Green’s dominant performance was just what the Yankees needed.
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Ethan Semendinger – I was sure that the Yankees turning point was going to be converting only 1 run with a no-outs bases loaded situation in the 2nd inning, but they were able to hold that lead towards a needed victory. The turning point for me however was the fact that borderline calls around the plate seemed to favor the Yankees and it was pretty consistent throughout the game. This helped a lot with the Yankees bats with understanding the perimeter of the strike-zone and it definitely helped Montgomery get some outs early in the game.
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