FULL INNING: Masataka Yoshida’s CLUTCH hit gives the Red Sox their 1st Postseason lead 💪 | 吉田正尚ハイライト
Back here, Yankees and Red Sox in a terrific game. One- nothing, seventh inning. Freed stays on the mound to get the left-handed hitting Jiren Duran. Weaver was warming up last inning and he gets him with a curveball 0 and one. Conviction and confidence tonight for Max Freed has been evident as he goes into the seventh having allowed just four hits and no runs. But one thing that Freed has done is pitch in out and taking pitches off with Vo. Not a lot of four seamers, not a lot of two seamers. It’s been the breaking stuff. It’s been the change up. Curveball sweeper. And this one off the end of the bat. Here’s a foot race between Freed and Duran. What a job by Goldmitt to get rid of the ball so fast. He allowed Freed to catch it in motion and step on the bag. It’s a great point, Carl. And there’ll be a great ovation for Max Freed, but his defense tonight has really helped him put into the double play in the last inning. Not a bad postseason debut for Max Freed. There have been feast or famine in the postseason and he was dining right tonight. Well, there he is, Max Freed. He was outstanding and again helped by his defense tonight as he struck out six. It’s a great pickup, Carl. You know, Goldmint to Gold Glover gets it to Max Freed early enough so he’s got time to multitask. Give me the ball now. So then I’ve got time to find the bag and beat a speedy Jared Durant. Sure helps also that Freed is one of the fastest pitchers in the league. He got down there in a hurry. Now he’ll watch with everyone else here and you at home as the bullpen is activated. Luke Weaver against Raphaela. Swinging a miss on the first one. change up at 90. Take a look at the numbers for Weaver. It’s been a bullpen that at times has been dominant and at other times disastrous. And he was so good in the postseason last year. He was money. The September RA was 513 for the bullpen. And yet there were flashes when you’d hand it to Weaver and Williams and then maybe Duval. But Bednar at the end very very capable. Yeah, Bednar at the end kind of solidified everything. Raphaela 16 home runs on the season. It’s one- nothing. We’re in the top of the seventh inning. Backto back change ups to get ahead 0 and two. Seems like Raphael is trying to tie this with one swing. Yeah. [Applause] 90th percentile in chase rate in whiff rate. That is expected erra and expected batting average are both in the 90th percentile. Weaver 02. [Applause] Well, Mike, the Hall of Famer was the last to do it. A great debut for Max Freed in the pinstripes in the postseason. That’s where Yankees become legends in the postseason. The O2 chase down and he’s able to foul it off. Sped him up with the fast ball. 02 up then goes right back to the change up down. He’s hit over 420 since the 19th of September. Has Sedon Raphaela Raphaela. This one may be playable. Goldmick going over towards the stands, but no, it drifts in. Like Fernando Cruz has also gotten up and started to get loose in that Yankee bullpen. Your team, your players, your postseason. Follow all the postseason action. Download the MLB app. It’s the number one app for live baseball. Mike Durant. Raphaela has terrific speed. Cababierro is like Vulpi nearly with his ankles up against the grass. Second base as well with Rosario. Weaver fires his seventh pitch of this at bat and he misses. Coming into the postseason, Rank, this was one of the questions. Which Yankee bullpen is going to show up in October or the last day of September? Aaron Boon says this is the best team he’s ever had here. Part of that is because of the moves made at the deadline by Cashman to bolster both the offense, the bench, and the bullpen. That’s just fouled. Rafael right now on the fast ball. And that one right there was a change up. Barely was able to keep it fair as well. If the change up is going to be effective, you have to get Raphael to chase out of the zone. [Applause] 10th pitch of the atbat. Everybody in the stadium, including all the players, know how important this game is, this inning is. They’re all up on the railing. Bounced another one. A change up. You know, the temperature in the ballpark feels different, doesn’t it? Very much pitch to pitch. Everybody in here is sitting on it. Weaver trying to get Raphaela to chase just, you know, and he does chase quite a bit, but you either too high or too low. You got to make it competitive. Three and two to a base running threat if he gets on and he lost him. Raphael will take the walk and the base and you can feel the anxiety rising here at the stadium. No Max Freed anymore on that mound. Raphael with good speed at first. One out. You have to always be aware of what Alex Cora can do. Pushing the buttons. There are the numbers for the bullpen overall this season with the RA over five. They leave Sogard in the second baseman to hit. And ball one as Fernando Cruz’s intensity is ramped up in that bullpen. Well, you got Yoshida on deck. He’s had a very good finish to the season. It’s been his pitch so far tonight. That change up, a swing and a miss from Nick Sogard. You have Nathaniel Low who is available. Rolley Gonzalez conceivably could have moved to second base and you have Low hit here. Soggard instead sends one up the middle. Raphaela will head to third. Sogard aggressively going into second and he is safe. Second time that we’ve seen Nick Sogard take an extra base. One on a fly ball to center field on a tag up. And here on a single to center field. You talk about co coaching right here. Raphael easily will make third. But as soon as Aaron Judge gets the ball, Jos Flores at first base is telling Sogard, you got to go challenge that arm. He did and he was able to make it to second. The best coach you have is your own self. You get the reassurance by the first base coach. That is advanced scouting right there by the Boston Red Sox. Great job by Soggard pushing the envelope. I didn’t pick up. How close were Gisham and Judge when they picked the ball up? No, that was Judge’s ball. Well, knowing Alex Cora the way that we do and having seen him manage for the years, you got the impression that when they got freed out of the game, he would go up and down and say, “Now we go.” And that’s his st. Now we go. And they certainly have done that. He leaves Sogard in and he delivers second and third after the meeting. You mentioned Yoshida will be the pinch hitter for Boston. How you play in the infield, Eduardo? Well, you got to play back right here. You play the corner in in Cababayro. The rest, you play back. You’re at home. You have to at least concede the run and get the out. [Applause] Yoshida sends one to center field. Raphaela’s going to come in. Soggard to the plate. Masa Yoshida delivers and Boston now leads it two to one as they get to the bullpen. And Luke Weaver [Applause] and that happened quickly. [Applause] Nick Soggard’s aggressive base running and the send from his first base coach put him in position to score on a single. Fast ball up. Yoshida ready to hit. He’s been on fire to finish the season. Alex Gora had that wild card sitting on the bench being ready to hit. Well, Max Freed no longer in line to pick up a win. He was outstanding. Weaver a walk to Raphaela. And then Sogard and Yoshida deliver. Now it’s Cruz against Story. Boston on top two to one. It had been so quiet thanks to Freed. And it all changes here in the seventh. And if you’re wondering why they’re not running for Yoshida yet, Alex Corin knows that there’s a lot of baseball left. Might have an app bat again perhaps in the eighth or the ninth inning. Fernando Cruz now on the mound. A splitter and a four seamer. He’ll throw a sinker about 14% of the time and a slider. He has terrific extension, meaning he gets way down the mound before he lets that ball go. That’s high. This time of year, you talk to the managers, it’s about the circle of trust, right? I mean, who do you trust in your bullpen? And it felt like this was a big litmitness test for the Yankees. Weaver was the first man in. He couldn’t get it done. Now it’s Cruz’s turn and Story gone there. 94 mph fast ball. Let’s go back to the Yoshida plate appearance. Well, first pitch swinging right there. You can see it’s belt high and it’s just drilled right back up the box. Oh, there’s a game plan to Boston and a comfort zone to all these players as well. They know what lineup is going to be presented with a left-handed pitcher up and a right-handed pitcher. These guys are ready to hit off the bench. Yoshida missed nearly a 100 games. He missed the first 93 games of the season. He was dealing with a right shoulder laboral repair surgery. And he had safely in eight of his final nine games. Since the 19th of September, it was batting 368 with an OPS over a,000. And it took him one pitch to make an impact here. You have to go back to the Soard base running. Yes. Putting the pressure on the defense in the outfield and paying attention to the scouting report. Running with his head up. Ben’s in there for a strike. Now on the other side, Boston’s bullpen, especially in the eighth and ninth inning with Garrett Whitlock and Aldis Chapman, you could certainly make the case, has been the best in the majors. Yeah, those two back to back. Chapman gets gets all the accolades and rightly so, but Whitlock has been lights out too. Bregman swings badly and misses there. Does Crochet come back out for the seventh and then Whitlock and then Chapman? Because Whitlock is available for multiple innings if they go there. Remains to be seen and the reason is there’s a lot of left-handed bat with power sitting on that bench ready to hit for Aaron Boom. Bellinger will lead things off. So you’ll likely leave Crochet in. He’s retired his last 13 in a row. [Applause] Out of play. [Applause] [Applause] Out of play again. All right, Coney, as a pitcher, Crochet has been sitting since about 7:48. It’s 8:10. Is that a rest for him or does it create a situation where he gets a little tighter? I think it’s he’ll be fine. Okay. Tell you the truth, on a kind of a warm night, you know, maybe different weather. Yep. Colder weather might make a make an impact, but I think he’s enjoying watching his team hit right now, I’m sure. Eight minutes ago, he was losing this game. He’s feeling a lot better and looser right now. 3-2 to Bregman. Runner goes. That’s inside. And not a good start for the Yankee bullpen here in game one of this wild card. Weaver with a walk. And now Cruz with a walk. And two men on. And it looks like Nathaniel Low is going to pinch it for Romy Gonzalez. He of course won a World Series with the Rangers in 2023 with a whole bunch of postseason experience. He’s hit safely in 11 of his last 13. Yoshida delivered a pinch hit. Can Low do the same thing? Swings at the first one. Golfs it to right. Judge back. He’s there to make a great catch. Not an easy play for the big outfielder in right field like Yoshida. Low swings at the first one and Aaron Judge makes the big play. But it was So guard’s base running aggressive to get to second into a scoring position and then Masa Yoshida getting all sorts of celebration. [Music]
9/30/2025: The Boston Red Sox orchestrate a rally vs. Luke Weaver and the New York Yankees to take a 2-1 lead in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series.
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