Daily dose of Yordan (Game 130)

Today's statline: 1-4, HR, RBI, R

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At bat 1 (Top of second): 2 pitch groundout to first

Similar to last game, Yordan started the at bat off with a very questionable outside low fastball that was somehow called a strike despite looking like it was off the plate by a couple inches. Then Yordan got another fastball, this one right down the middle, and scorched a ground ball to the right side of the infield, but unfortunately right to the shifted first baseman, who made the easy jog for the unassisted out. A really well hit ball, it was hit super hard and placed well, but just right at the defense.

At bat 2 (Top of fifth): 3 pitch home run to right, RBI, R

Yordan once again started an at bat with a first pitch strike he watched, although this fastball was near his hands and was very much in the zone. He followed that up with an extremely low fastball way outside the zone to even the count. Then the pitcher (Hearn) threw Yordan a low but extremely hittable offspeed pitch in his comfort zone, and Yordan launched a high, towering fly ball to right field, which tucked right into the foul pole for a 377 feet home run. The broadcast showed that it was hit at a 41 degree launch angle at 102.9%, which was pretty funny to see and also reminded me of another right field foul home run, Howie Kendrick's homer in the 2019 world series. The Rangers keep throwing Yordan hittable offspeed pitches and it continues to bite them in the ass, as he capitalizes again with an unorthodox home run.

At bat 3 (Top of seventh): 4 pitch groundout to first

Hearn started the at bat by throwing an outside fastball that Yordan swung and whiffed at for strike one. Yordan smiled a bit after that pitch, not relevant to the at bat at all, just worth noting. He then once again got shrunk on a low outside fastball that was ruled a strike when it could have gone either way, the third such call that happened today. Following the script from at bat 1, he then watched a noncompetitive fastball way outside the zone for ball one, before hitting another ground ball to first, this time a rough chopper that took a bit more effort to field but still resulted in a routine unassisted out.

At bat 4 (Top of ninth): 5 pitch groundout to second

After being constantly squeezed by the ump on low outside fastballs, it was quite a breather to see Yordan start the at bat off with back to back balls on inside fastballs near his hands but clearly out of the zone. He then watched a stone cold fastball for strike one, before rocking another fastball into the right field seats but unfortunately foul. Finally on the fifth pitch Yordan once again hit a pitch right down the middle really well, and once again, it was right to an infielder who made the routine out to end Yordan's day. A game that started pretty intriguingly but ended up feeling like a Zygerrian simulation running at minimum capacity, a good way to sum up both Yordan and the Astros today.