Yankees stay alive, win tense pitcher’s duel against Indians

The New York Yankees, facing elimination and the ignominy of being swept, won the most exciting game of the 2017 postseason, defeating the Cleveland Indians, 1-0. The lone run came on a solo home run from Greg Bird against Andrew Miller, relief deity.

Yankees fans are excited, but baseball fans everywhere can be excited: This felt like a normal postseason game.

It was a normal game because two excellent pitchers started the game, and both of them lasted longer than the third inning. Both of them lasted longer than the fourth inning. They just kept pitching and recording outs, and the game progressed like a classic pitcher’s duel. Carlos Carrasco struck out seven and allowed six baserunners and no runs in 5⅔ innings.

But Masahiro Tanaka threw seven full innings, striking out seven and allowing just four baserunners. The splitter was working, and the Indians were befuddled. The splitter was working so well, it was hard to be angry at the Indians for being befuddled. It was a befuddling splitter.

In the top of the sixth inning, Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor nearly hit a go-ahead home run. Noted ballhawk Zack Hample was in place to catch it. However, Aaron Judge had other ideas.

The tie was preserved, and the Yankees’ season was alive. In the bottom of the seventh, the Yankees’ season started to build a little confidence.

Bird hit a long, booming moonshot to put the Yankees ahead, and it was a lead they would not relinquish, despite a furious rally from the Indians against Aroldis Chapman in the ninth. The Yankees closer got five outs and survived a pair of one-out hits in the top of the ninth to preserve the season.

The Yankees win also preserves our rights as Americans to have four postseason games on the same day. They’ll play tomorrow, along with the other seven postseason teams, all of them alive and dreaming World Series dreams. In a postseason filled with early hooks, copious dingers, and multi-headed bullpen monsters, the Yankees and Indians played a very traditional, electric game that finished with a single run.

More of these games wouldn’t be a bad idea, really.