Wide World of Women

The 2017 MLB Postseason kicks off in The Bronx with the Wild Card Showdown between the Yankees and Twins. This is the second trip to the postseason for the Yankees in three years, who have done so with youth--mainly the powerful bats wielded by Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. We are in as a Wild Card once again, due to falling short in the AL East race, and we now have to face the Minnesota Twins, who made a huge turnaround--and that's an understatement. The Twins lost 103 games last year, but this season, they did 26 games better and reached the postseason; the first team to do so following a 100+ loss season. The pitching matchup is Severino vs Santana, Twins have HR Derby runner-up Miguel Sano as part of a collection of strong hitters. Two years ago, the Yankees weren't so successful in the WC game. Expect a different outcome this time.

Prediction: Yankees by 2

#1

I kept getting an "invalid" message when trying to vote.

Anyway, I believe the Yankees will take the WC game.

The polls are still broken for some reason. Probably best to leave your reply instead, if so inclined.

I'd love to see the Twins keep their dream season going, but something tells me Judge and company will keep them at bay.

Yankees 8, Twins 4

Despite Severino being blasted early, Yankees advance behind four HRs and stellar pitching from the bullpen (Green, Robertson, Kahnle, Chapman).

Two key moments decided this game in the Yankees favor:

Minnesota spotted them 3 runs in the top half of the first. Most home teams would have crumbled with this harsh a spotlight.
But when Brett Gardner drew a walk and would later come around to score ahead of Deedee Gregorious' monster home run to tie the game in the bottom half, that set up for bigger things to come.

And what can you say about Aaron Judge? He came in, as advertised. With his fourth inning homer just barely clearing the left field fence, the Bronx Bombers were on their way to Cleveland.

Give credit also to the two former recent Chicago relievers in former White Sox hurler David Robertson and the 2016 savior for the Cubs in Aroldis Chapman...both guys simply were lights out.

Speaking of Cleveland, their area is supposed to get some rain before and during the time first pitch happens on Thursday night. We will have to monitor what MLB decides. Remember, in the postseason--it is no longer the home teams' responsibility to decide if games will be rescheduled due to inclement weather. The Commissioner's Office will have full decision on such matters.

In the final analysis, Minnesota had a good season--but wasn't good enough to match wits with the Yankees.