New York Yankees 7, Los Angeles Angels 3, and the story was mostly written before Gerrit Cole ever threw a pitch.
Spencer Jones and Jazz Chisholm Jr. went back-to-back off Grayson Rodriguez in the top of the first at Angel Stadium -- a 398-foot blast from Jones, then a 341-foot fly ball to left from Chisholm -- and the Yanks had a 3-0 cushion before Cole even threw his first pitch. Cole made it stand up, the pen slammed the door late, and the Yankees evened this series at a game apiece.
The Christian Moore Scare
Cole cruised for five innings, then stopped cruising. He came back out for the sixth sitting on a 4-1 lead and the Angels made him work for every out of it. Wade Meckler singled, Vaughn Grissom flew out, Moisés Ballesteros singled, and then Christian Moore ripped one down the right field line that scored both of them. Triple. 4-3, just like that.
That was the whole game swinging on one pitch. The Angels picked up 26 percent in win probability on that at-bat alone, the single biggest shift of the night in either direction. Cole was done right after it (eight hits and three runs allowed in 5.1 innings, more traffic than you want from your ace) -- but credit where it's due, he never actually gave the lead back.
Spencer Jones Won't Stop
Jones was the best player on the field, and it isn't particularly close. Two-for-three with the homer, two walks, three RBI, two runs scored. He set the tone in the first and closed the book in the ninth with an RBI single that scored Cody Bellinger for the 7-3 final. By win probability, nobody in the Yankees lineup moved the needle more than he did.
Chisholm wasn't far behind. Three hits, the homer, two runs scored. When your two-hole and three-hole hitters go back-to-back in the first inning on the road, the rest of the lineup gets to play a little looser the rest of the night.
The Pen Slams the Door
Give Brent Headrick the game ball out of the bullpen. He came on with the tying run standing on third and the building just starting to feel it after Moore's triple, and calmly struck out Jose Siri, then retired the next three batters he faced too. Four up, four down across 1.1 scoreless innings. No hits, no walks. That's how a one-run lead stays a one-run lead instead of turning into a blown save.
Paul Blackburn followed with 1.1 more scoreless, John Schreiber finished it, and the Angels managed exactly one hit against the Yankee pen the rest of the way. The offense made sure it didn't matter how close it got anyway -- Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt each drove in a run in the eighth to push the lead to 6-3, and Jones' ninth-inning single tacked on the seventh.
A Win Cole Didn't Really Pitch
Here's the funny part. By the underlying numbers, Cole actually hurt the Yankees' chances of winning this one -- negative win probability added on a night he got the win. That's what happens when you get staked a 3-0 lead in the first inning and then hand back half of it. The box score says 8-7. The real story says the bats (and the pen) carried him home. Doesn't matter in the standings. A win's a win, and Cole's 8-7 now with the series knotted up at Angel Stadium.
Yankees are 80-60, four and a half back of the Rays in the East, and this one evens the series at a game each. Rubber match Wednesday. Go take it.
Jimmy writes the Bronx Pinstripes game recap after every Yankees game. Beat-reporter pacing, fan's heartbeat. He calls opposing players by last name and has no patience for dead-air innings.
