Okay, maybe it's just time to realize that yes, while nobody's perfect or unbeatable and the New York Yankees still have a great deal of talent in that lineup, no: the Yankees are not going to beat Justin Verlander in this game.
Yankees turn big double play to escape 6th inning with score still 2-0
After a 1-2-3 fifth inning and a 1-2-3 sixth, Verlander has a) allowed exactly one baserunner, and b) thrown only 81 pitches. One anomaly: Verlander, after striking out 22 Athletics in only 16 in their Division Series, has K'd only two Yankees in Game 3.
Nobody cares about strikeouts when you’re throwing a one-hitter.
In the bottom of the sixth, with right-handed sidearmer Cody Eppley on the mound, Alex Avila led off and struck out, but Omar Infante singled and Austin Jackson drew a walk (this time unintentional). That did it for Eppley, who was of course replaced by another sidearmer, lefty Boone Logan.
Jim Leyland responded with a pinch hitter, righty-hitting Avisail Garcia. And the move paid off big when Garcia lined a single into center field to load the bases.
Well, it could have been big. Miguel Cabrera was up next, with a big chance to essentially end Game 3.
Instead, he shot a hot grounder toward third base, where Eric Chavez made this happen:
and just like that, the Yankees were out of the inning. And with the score still 2-0, they’re still in this game and they’re still in this series. If just barely.
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