Wed AM BRB (4-7-21) In Cole’d Blood
This Day in Music (4-7-2020)
Singer/Songwriter John Prine dies from complications caused by COVID-19.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole proved why he is on the shortlist of the game’s greatest players Tuesday night, carving up the Baltimore Orioles with callous precision. In what will no doubt go down as one of the finest pitching performances Yankees fans will see this season, Cole struck out 13 beleaguered Orioles in a seven inning shove-fest en route to a 7-2 Yankees win. Cole was so brilliant he had to reserve moments of displeasure for strikeouts that didn’t quite meet his expectations. Cole became the sixth pitcher in Yankees history to strike out 13, walk none and allow no earned runs in a single start, and his fantastic display of dominance saw him bring his ERA to 1.46 (albeit through two starts). Yankees fans were also treated to another well-rounded offensive display led by twin towers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. The latter was kept in the ballpark Tuesday night, but is no doubt starting to find his touch at the plate. After a frustrating strikeout with the bases loaded in the first inning, Stanton rebounded to have a terrific day going 2 for 4 and driving in Brett Gardner on an RBI double. As for Aaron Judge, well, there’s nothing really to say when the man gets this hot. Going 3 for 5, Judge has raised his slash line to .364/.391/.636 to open the young season. You want power? Judge provided that in spades with a majestic three-run home run to left that officially put the game out of reach. You want to complain that Aaron Judge isn’t clutch? Judge stopped critics dead in their tracks last night with all four of his RBI coming with two outs. Invariably, when questions are asked about Judge’s play on the field, he answers them in the affirmative. Yankees fans will be more than happy to just get out of his way and watch the magic happen. If all that wasn’t enough for you, the Bruce is Loose ladies and gentleman! Forgoing the low-hanging, yet still plentiful fruit of a Springsteen reference, “the Bruce is Loose,” (especially with the classic Sterling mustard applied to LOOSE) makes for a solid as all-hell 4.25 out of 5 star Sterling call. Simple, memorable, saucy.
Tuesday night saw the Mets arrive in the win column for the first time this season with an 8-4 victory over the Phillies. While manager Luis Rojas certainly started the season on the wrong foot with fans, as our own Nick Buscemi discussed yesterday, his move to install Dominic Smith back in left field immediately offered the novice manager some redemption. In the fourth inning, Smith took Chase Anderson deep, plating his 1B tag team partner Pete Alonso and giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. A vintage Marcus Stroman outing of six innings, one earned run and three K’s kept the Phillies at bay until the offense was able to break out for four runs produced by small ball in the seventh. Though things once again got a bit contentious when the bullpen came in to relieve Stroman, the Mets never broke. Pete Alonso took the last winds of hope out of the Phillies’ sails with a two-run HR in the top of the ninth. Game-finisher Jeurys Familia wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t need to be Tuesday night. Though the Mets will certainly look to their bullpen to provide more certainty down the road, their first win of the season is a reminder that when you have excellent starting pitching and a lively offense, two out of three ain’t a bad place to start.
Semyon Varlamov and the New York Islanders answered the call last night, keeping pace for the division crown with a 1-0 win over the Washington Capitals. With both teams now having played 39 games, the Islanders have been able to erase the game the Caps had in-hand in what is no doubt their biggest win of the season to date. Varlamov was once again the Isles’ ready-for-primetime player, stopping all 29 shots he faced to record the 31st shutout of his quite underrated career. His performance once again freed the team up to play the game their way, as all it took was an opportunistic third-period goal from Brock Nelson to see the Islanders through to victory. The Islanders front office will be hard at work over the next five days in an attempt to fortify the squad for the playoffs, but wins like this are proof-positive that this is a team, and a run, in which to invest…Now a long way away from their early-season doldrums, the New York Rangers have returned to the exciting, if inconsistent, team that captured fans imaginations last year. Led by a four-point night by Artemi Panarin, the Rangers throttled the Pittsburgh Penguins early and often Tuesday night to the tune of an 8-4 win. The Garden crowd saw it all; stars like Panarin and Mika Zibanejad continue to be in top-form. Young guns Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko each recorded a goal as they continue to arrive as legitimate threats. Star pupils of David Quinn’s tutelage, Ryan Strome, Pavel Buchnevich and the endlessly-sensational Adam Fox, all entered the scoresheet, as well. While the Rangers continue to sit on the outside-looking-in of the postseason picture, this team continues to prove they don’t know when to say uncle.