SAN DIEGO — The New York Yankees didn’t flinch underneath the strain of an elimination sport and obtained the AL Division Collection in opposition to Tampa Bay into the palms of ace Gerrit Cole for the decisive Recreation 5.

Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres hit spectacular residence runs, Jordan Montgomery and three relievers have been sensible in combining on a three-hitter and the Yankees beat the Rays 5-1 Thursday night time to even the best-of-5 sequence at 2-2.

The Yankees bounced again from consecutive losses in opposition to their AL East rivals to arrange a showdown between Cole and Tyler Glasnow on Friday night time.

Requested the Yankees mentality for Recreation 5, Voit stated, “We’re going to win it.”

And with Cole on the mound, “We’re locked and loaded,” Voit stated.

Cole, backed by 4 residence runs, gained 9-Three within the sequence opener Monday and will probably be pitching on brief relaxation for the primary time in his massive league profession. Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone stated the choice was made when he handed his ace Thursday and made eye contact.

“Hey, give me the ball,” he remembered Cole saying.

Cole stated he took inspiration from watching CC Sabathia, Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke and Dallas Keuchel carry groups on brief relaxation.

“When the lights activate, it doesn’t matter if it’s three, 4, 5, six, seven days,” Cole stated. “�t’s a particular alternative.”

Cole will probably be pitching about 100 miles south of the place he grew up a Yankees fan in Newport Seaside.

“I feel all people’s feeling prefer it’s going to be a particular sport,” stated Cole, who pitched at UCLA earlier than starting his massive league profession with Pittsburgh. “It’s not going to take one man to win it, it’s going to should be an entire staff sport, very like most of our wins are. Anytime you’re within the lineup in a do-or-die sport, your supervisor has religion in you. As a participant it’s all the time a great feeling and also you all the time wish to be on the market within the massive second.

“We’re right here and it’s a part of the trail to get to the place we finally wish to get to,” added Cole, who left the Houston Astros within the offseason and joined the Yankees on a $324 million, nine-year contract.

Glasnow will probably be pitching on two days’ relaxation after throwing 93 pitches.

It’s a rematch of final 12 months’s ALDS Recreation 5 between Houston and Tampa Bay. Cole pitched eight innings of one-run ball for the Astros in a 5-1 victory. Glasnow was pulled after eight outs and 4 runs.

“We’ve seen him,” Tampa Bay supervisor Kevin Money stated. “I feel we all know him slightly bit higher now. We all know he’s a gifted pitcher, and he’ll be dialed up I’d anticipate similar to he’s on common relaxation. We’ve obtained to return out and have good at-bats in opposition to him similar to we now have up to now.”

Voit speculated Glasnow can be used as an opener and be adopted by Recreation 1 starter Blake Snell.

The Recreation 5 winner will stay in San Diego to face the Houston Astros within the AL Championship Collection beginning Sunday night time.

The Yankees are attempting to achieve the ALCS for the third time in 4 seasons following eliminations by the Astros at that stage in 2017 and final season. The Rays are attempting to advance to the ALCS for the primary time since 2008, once they made it to their solely World Collection.

Carrying their residence pinstripes for a second straight night time at impartial website Petco Park, the Yankees lived as much as their Bronx Bombers nickname.

Voit, who led the majors with 22 homers within the pandemic-shortened season, led off the second by driving a 1-Zero pitch from Rays opener Ryan Thompson into the second deck in left discipline for his first profession postseason shot.

“We’re like caged animals,”Voit stated when requested when the Yankees appear to carry out greatest underneath strain this 12 months.

“There was actually an edge to them proper earlier than the sport, proper earlier than we have been able to take the sphere, and I believed everybody got here up massive tonight,” Boone stated.

Torres one-upped his teammate when he deposited a two-run homer onto the balcony on the fourth ground of the Western Steel Provide Co. brick warehouse within the left-field nook, the centerpiece of the downtown ballpark. That got here on the primary pitch he noticed from Ryan Yarbrough and put the Yankees forward 4-1 with one out within the sixth. In his earlier at-bat, Torres fouled a ball off his calf.

It was Torres’ first this postseason and fifth of his profession, tying Mickey Mantle for essentially the most playoff homers for a Yankees participant 23 or youthful.

The one youthful Yankees participant to homer whereas going through postseason elimination was 20-year-old Mantle, in each Video games 6 and seven of the 1952 World Collection in opposition to the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Story continues

“We have been actually assured tonight,” Torres stated. “We by no means really feel panic or something like that. We simply come to the plate and attempt to do what we will do. Inning after inning, we really feel extra comfy. That’s the way in which the entire staff desires to really feel. And we believed in our bullpen all night time lengthy, so we really feel nice for that.”

Torres’ homer was the 18th of the sequence, with every staff hitting 9.

New York stored Randy Arozarena within the ballpark after the 25-year-old Cuban homered in every of the primary three video games. Likewise, the Rays ended Giancarlo Stanton‘s franchise-record run of homering in 5 straight video games however he did double. Stanton hit 4 homers within the first three video games of this sequence and had six complete within the first 5 postseason video games.

Chad Inexperienced, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman mixed for 5 hitless innings of aid, retiring 15 of the final 16 batters. Inexperienced pitched two good innings for the win, and Chapman obtained 4 outs for his first save of this postseason. He struck out Arozarena on a 101 mph sinker to finish the eighth.

Montgomery went 4 innings in his first look since Sept. 24, holding the Rays to at least one run and three hits whereas hanging out 4 and strolling three. He struck out Arozarena within the first and retired the breakout star on a grounder within the fourth.

Tampa Bay loaded the bases within the third however obtained only one run, on Brandon Lowe‘s fielder’s selection.

It was a a lot better begin than Montgomery had in opposition to the Rays at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 2, when he was pulled after permitting 4 runs and 5 hits on 39 pitches, and getting solely two outs.

Thompson took the loss. He was chased after permitting DJ LeMahieu‘s sacrifice fly for the second out of the second.

Voit, Torres homer as Yankees beat Rays 5-1 to power Recreation 5 initially appeared on NBCSports.com