Daily dose of Yordan (Game 131)

Today's statline: 1-4, RBI, BB, K

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At bat 1 (Top of first): 1 pitch single to center, RBI

Coming up in a key RBI moment early in the game (runners on first and second with less than two outs), Yordan started off his day nicely, smashing a towering fly ball to center field off a lazy curve right down the middle. Kelenic looked like he had it for a second but then bobbled it, allowing Brantley to score and Correa to move to third. Yordan raced to second on the resulting throw to the plate, smart baserunning by him here (which would indirectly lead to another run, as with a base open the Mariners chose to give Gurriel an unintentional intentional walk leading to another run). Yordan would advance to third on a sac fly by Tucker, but wouldn't score, as Diaz grounded out to end the inning. Overall still a great job here to again capitalize on a bad offspeed pitch in the zone that he could drive in runners with.

At bat 2 (Top of third): 1 pitch flyout to left

Once again, Yordan started off an at bat by swinging at the first pitch in the zone and hitting it deep into the outfield. However, this time the fastball he hit didn't have enough carry to drop, as it hung long enough in left field for a routine warning track flyout. Kind of substandard by Yordan here, but he still made good contact and hit a deep, well hit fly ball, can't really ask for more out of him. Probably a Crawford box bomb though.

At bat 3 (Top of fifth): 6 pitch strikeout swinging

Yordan started off the at bat rather nicely, taking a fastball near his hands and an offspeed pitch outside to put him comfortably ahead 2-0. However then Flexen came back with two nice pitches, a changeup right down the middle and in the zone taken for a strike, and then an uncharacteristic miss by Yordan on another one high in the zone (foreshadowing…). He then fouled off another offspeed pitch in the zone to stay alive on 2-2, but then had another questionable swing and miss on another high fastball high and out of the zone. Gotta applaud the pitcher here for finding the pitch that Yordan was off on this at bat, but you also have to wonder why Yordan didn't make better contact on those, normally he controls the top half of the zone like an emperor.

At bat 4 (Top of seventh): 2 pitch flyout to right

Yordan again took the first pitch of the at bat, a curve in the zone, for strike one. He then swung well at another fastball in the zone, and hit it pretty high, but not as deep as his previous two flyballs. Instead, the right fielder made the routine stab for the first out.

At bat 5 (Top of ninth): 6 pitch walk

Facing the new reliever, former Nationals closer Sean Doolittle (did Yordan ever face him in the 2019 World Series?), Yordan once again swung and missed at a high and inside fastball, this one well within the zone however. He then had the great foresight to take an extremely close fastball, also inside, for a ball, and then watched back to back low pitches outside to work into a 3-1 count. He then once again swung and missed at a high fastball, a little worrying for someone like him to have four such misses on similar pitches in one game. He then recovered though, and slayed his demons by taking a high fastball for a ball to draw the well-earned walk.