A shutout the day before notwithstanding, the Yanks’ 10-3 loss to Texas in Game 4 of the 2010 ALCS on October 19, 2010, was probably the most frustrating loss, because behind A.J. Burnett, the Bombers led 1-0 and then 3-2 through five innings. But when Bengie Molina turned the game with a three-run sixth-inning home run, New York had to try to fight back from a three games to one deficit. Also of note: Mark Teixeira was lost to injury in the fifth inning. Continue reading →
He wasn’t “Mr. October” until the 18th of the month in 1977. The Yanks had fallen behind the Dodgers, but not for long. Reggie Jackson hit three home runs on three pitched balls on October 18, 1977, and the Yankees prevailed over the Dodgers, 8-4, to win the game and the Series. Despite the return to near glory the year before, it was the first Yankee Championship in 15 years. Continue reading →
I used the word “stirring” to describe the Yankee victory in Game Three of the 2017 ALCS over Houston yesterday, but it really rightfully applies to the come-from-behind gem they pulled out of a hat on October 17 in Game Four. Fans may be surprised to read that Sonny Gray matched zeroes with Lance McCullers, Jr. through five, but a leadoff walk and catcher’s interference in the sixth were the first two of three runs to score on a Yuri Gurriel double off David Robertson. Carlos Beltran doubled off Chad Green in the seventh to make it 4-0, but that’s when the fun began. An Aaron Judge home run started a two-run rally in the bottom half, then his double and one off the bat of Gary Sanchez propelled the four-run rally in the eighth that brought home the 6-4 victory. Didi Gregorius tripled and singled in the two rallies as well. Continue reading →
A miraculous and stirring three days in the Bronx began with an 8-1 thrashing of Charlie Morton and the Astros in Game Three of the ALCS (they had gone 0-2 in Houston) on October 16, 2017. Three-run home runs from Todd Frazier and Aaron Judge propelled the offense, and CC Sabathia surrendered three singles, four walks, and no runs through six. The beloved Bernie Williams threw out the first pitch on a cool, becoming cold, and breezy Monday night in the Bronx. Continue reading →
The Yanks won their first World Championship on October 15, 1923, 5-4, behind a Babe Ruth home run and a two-run, game-winning single in the eighth off the bat of Bob Meusel. The crosstown Giants took the loss. Continue reading →
The Yanks were going back to the Series after a 15-year absence! George Brett‘s three-run homer in the eighth had tied it, but Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss hit a moon shot that appeared to scrape the back of the wall in right off Mark Littell in the bottom of the ninth on October 14, 1976, and all was beautiful bedlam in the Bronx. It’s almost quaint to view the TV feed today and see thousands in a pre-“global terror” world swarming the field as Chambliss fights his way to the Yankee dugout. He would touch third base and home plate afterward with a police escort. Continue reading →
It was Ron Guidry‘s year, and he got the Yanks’ first World Series victory of the 1978 season, 5-1 over the Dodgers, on October 13. But what will (rightly) most be remembered from this game is the incredible defense Graig Nettles provided at third base, saving multiple Dodgers’ runs with one outstanding play after another. Continue reading →
Typing words I hope to change sooner rather than later, the Yanks had their last great postseason moment on October 12, 2012, when they finally prevailed in a scintillating five-game ALDS over Baltimore with a 3-1 win in Yankee Stadium. Shocking not only the O’s but many of the fans, Mark Teixeira, on via a leadoff fifth-inning single, stole second and then scored on Raul Ibanez‘s rbi single to get it started. Ichiro Suzuki doubled Derek Jeter home in the sixth, Curtis Granderson homered the next frame, and CC Sabathia pitched a nine-inning, three-hit, complete game in the 3-1 pinstriper win. Continue reading →
On October 11, 2022, the Yankees won the opener of their ALDS Series vs the Guardians on a two-run home run from Anthony Rizzo, and a singleton shot from Harrison Bader, displaying a power surge that would show in the playoffs, but sadly not in 2023. Gerrit Cole struck out eight over seven, the only blemish being an early blast from Cleveland left fielder Steven Kwan. Continue reading →
If there were a few Yankee fans too shy to yell “R-R-A-A-U-U-U-L-L-!-!-!” before October 10, 2012, his exploits that night probably put them over the top. With Baltimore’s Miguel Gonzalez barely outpitching Hiroki Kuroda, the 2-1 lead the O’s took to the ninth had them set to take that same lead in games in the five-game ALDS, after the teams had split two in Baltimore. But Joe Girardi made the controversial call and pinch hit Raul Ibanez for Alex Rodriguez with one down, and Raul tied it with a homer to right off Jim Johnson. And three innings later, Ibanez sent 50,000-plus home happy by homering off Brian Matusz for the 3-2 Yankee win. Continue reading →
