Despite the mismatch of a starting pitcher matchup, Monday night could been a Yankees blowout in Cleveland. They had Shane Bieber on the ropes from the jump, and even when the opening salvo only turned into a couple runs, there was an opportunity for more. Nothing came of it, and when Bieber settled into a groove, the offense was rendered powerless. Cleveland made a mini-comeback and tagged New York with a tough L, 3-2.
The top of the first inning was an ambush by the Yankees against Bieber, the Guardians’ best pitcher. Leading off with DJ LeMahieu on the bench, Gleyber Torres sent a laser down the left-field line on Bieber’s first pitch of the game, and Aaron Judge followed with a walk to run his impressive on-base streak up to 43 in a row (third-best in New York’s Post-DiMaggio Streak Era).