Daily dose of Yordan (Game 129)

Today's statline: 2-3, HR, RBI, R, K

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At bat 1 (Top of second): 3 pitch home run to center, RBI, R

The at bat started with a hard foul on a fastball inside the zone for strike one. He then took a similar pitch but a bit more inside for ball one to even the count. After throwing Yordan two inside fastballs, Allard came in with a lazy curve right down the middle, that he crushed to center field. The center fielder (Adolis, I think?) made a good jumping catch at the wall, but it bounced just a couple feet over his glove for a home run. Replay confirms that it was a borderline home run, but either way Yordan capitalized on a lazy offspeed pitch in the zone thrown by Allard and hit it extremely well, deserving of a home run.

At bat 2 (Top of third): 5 pitch strikeout swinging

Yordan decided this time to start the at bat with consecutive strikes looking, taking fastballs that were both extremely questionable strikes on both the inside and outside lines of the plate. Staying alive, Yordan hit a tapper foul and then watched a noncompetitive fastball outside for a ball. Allard got Yordan this time though, as he threw a fastball low and out of the zone that Yordan simply whiffed on for the first out of the inning. A bad swing there, but I feel like the bad calls on the first two borderline strikes kinda squeezed him into a bad swing there.

At bat 3 (Top of fifth): 2 pitch hit by pitch

Yordan once again had a very questionable strike called on a fastball outside but probably in the zone to put him down 0-1. Then Allard went back to the inside fastball well one too many times, as he plunked Yordan in the back with a 90 MPH fastball, advancing Gurriel to second. Obviously not intentional, just an errant fastball that tailed away from Allard's hand.

At bat 4 (Top of seventh): 1 pitch single to center

Facing the new reliever, fellow Korean reliever Hyeon-Jong Yang, Yordan got a slider in the zone for his first pitch, and dumped it into center field for a single that once again drove Gurriel to second. Replay shows it's just a great swing by Yordan here, a sweet controlled swing that resulted in a clean base hit. Rangers pitchers keep throwing Yordan offspeed pitches right down the middle, this seems to not be working…