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The Wednesday Discussion: What Was The Turning Point of the Game? (Game 2)

We again asked our writers, “What was the turning point of the game?”

Here are their responses:

James Vlietstra – The turning point in tonight’s game was when the Yankees decided to bring a starting pitcher in from the bullpen in the second inning.

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Mike Whiteman – The turning point of last night’s game was when the Rays scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to make it 7-4 after Giancarlo Stanton had brought the Yankees to within a run on his three-run blast in the fourth. Falling behind by three runs to one of the best bullpens in the game made the Yanks comeback even more difficult, and they indeed came up short in the end.

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Paul Semendinger – The turning point was when Aaron Boone over-managed and brought in J.A. Happ. That was an unnecessary move that hurt the Yankees immediately and made them a weaker team for the rest of the series. That might not have been just the turning point of the game, it might have been the turning point of the series.

***

Ed Botti – The turning point in game two appears to have occurred before the first pitch was thrown. The brain trust of Cashman and Boone deciding to start Deivi Garcia, only to let him go 1 inning before turning game over to JA Haap, who only went 2.2 innings, was a poorly conceived plan that back fired. The move possibly cost them the game, as they scored 4 off of a very good pitcher, Glasnow in 5 innings.

They outsmarted themselves.

Of course, striking out 18 times didn’t help.

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Andy Singer – I’m tempted to say that the turning point came when umpire, CB Bucknor, stepped behind home plate, given the fact that the strike zone was merely a suggestion the whole night. Instead, I’ll say that the turning point in the game was when the Yankees turned to JA Happ in the bottom of the 2nd inning. I understood the logic behind the strategy of using an opposite handed opener to get match-up advantages, but I thought it put multiple pitchers in roles with which they weren’t accustomed, and the strategy ultimately backfired. I honestly don’t think the Yankees ever truly recovered from the 2nd inning, despite their chances to come back later in the game. They should have let Deivi Garcia get through the lineup at least once.

***

Ethan Semendinger – If JA Happ had pitched even 5 innings while allowing 3 runs, I still think the move to go to him after giving Deivi only 1 inning would be scrutinized, but also applauded. However, the move itself was not the turning point for the game for me last night, I think it was a combination of Yankees pitching refusing to attack the zone, the historically bad calling of a game by CB Bucknor, and the Austin Meadows HR in the 6th inning which gave the Rays a 7-4 lead. I legitimately turned off the TV after that Meadows HR before only returning for the bottom of the 9th so I could get the Quick Hit up ASAP and go to sleep.

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