There were some concerns and doubts about the New York Yankees’ ability to rise up to the occasion in the MLB postseason following a regular season with a lot of ups and downs. It didn’t take long before they put those doubters at ease.

The Bronx Bombers hit the ground running and demolished Triple-Crown winner Shane Bieber in Game 1 of the Wild-Card series vs. the Cleveland Indians en route to a statement 12-3 win on the road.

Gerrit Cole was at its finest and the Yankees’ offense never stopped putting the ball in the air throughout the game, even setting multiple franchise – and MLB – postseasonrecords along the way.

Yankees Tie Franchise Best In Postseason Hits And Home Runs

With their 15 hits and 4 dingers, this was the first time since Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS – and the second time in franchise history – that the Yankees have 15+ hits and 4+ home runs in a postseason game, according to New York Yankees Stats.

Gerrit Cole Sets Records On Dominant Performance

Gerrit Cole is back to his MVP level from last yearafter some shaky starts this season. He tossed 7 innings, gave up 6 hits, 2 earned runs, and struck out 13 hitters without giving a single base on balls.

That made him the first pitcher since Tom Seaver to ever throw 13+ Ks with 0 BBs in a postseason game. However, he became the first pitcher in MLB history to ever put up those kinds of numbers and actually get the win.

He also became the first pitcher to ever log multiple postseason stars of 12+ Ks and 0 BBs, the first pitcher with 3 postseason starts of 12+ Ks, and the first AL pitcher with 13+ Ks and 0 BBs, according to MLS stats.

And last, but not least, Gerrit Cole made Yankees history after his first postseason start, trailing only Roger Clemens (15) for most strikeouts in a playoff game. That’s a hell of a debut, for sure.

Gleyber Torres Breaks Yankees Records With Offensive Burst

It’s pretty safe to say that Gleyber Torres’ slump is far behind him. He went 4/4 last night with 3 runs, 3 RBIs, 1 home run, and 1 BB, becoming the first Yankees SS with at least 4 hits and 3 RBIs in a postseason game.

He’s also the second-youngest Yankees player(23 years, 291 days) with 4+ hits in a playoffs game, trailing only the legendary Derek Jeter (22 years, 105 days). To make things even more impressive, his 4th career postseason home run is the second most for a Yankees player aged 23 or younger, right behind Micky Mantle’s 5.

However, none of that will mean a thing unless Aaron Boone’s boys get the job done in Game 2 or 3 and move forward to the next round.

SURVEY Can the New York Yankees with the 2020 World Series?

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