Comeback Night in the Bronx

Game four of the American League Championship Series went through several phases.

It began as a pitching duel late on Tuesday afternoon between Sonny Gray of the Yankees and the Astros' Lance McCullers, Junior. They were equally effective -- to the point where fans could envision this coming down to a 1-run game.


Perhaps an error or a solo home run would becone the difference. One play, one run, one win. Gray and McCullers were that good.

But the game took a turn in the top of the 6th inning. The zeroes came to an end. And like so many rallies, it began with a walk. Houston's lead off man George Springer, walked on four pitchers. Josh Riddick then reached base on catcher's interference... And all of a sudden, this battle of zeroes was changing course. With two on and none out, Gray fell behind on a ball to Jose Altuve, and Joe Girardi decided it was time for a change. In comes David Robertson, who finishes the walk to the AL batting champ. He then strikes out Carlos Correia. With a chance to get out of the inning without giving up a run, Roberston serves up a bases-emptying double to Yuli Guriel. From a scoreless tie, the Yanks fall in a 3-0 hole; it becomes 4-0 an inning later, when a Marwin Gonzalez double was followed by a Starlin Castro fielding error. Astros up 4-0 on a night the Yankee bats were as cold as the beer and soda being consumed by the sell-out crowd of 48,000.

One swing -- by Aaron Judge -- brought our next change in direction.

 It landed in Monument Park and woke up the crowd that had been hushed by Houston's sudden rally.

A Didi Gregorius triple caused the Stadium to start rockin' like its fabled predecessor. And when Gary Sanchez drove him in with a sacrifice fly, there were suddenly 48,000 believers in a possible Yankee comeback.

After reliever Chad Green restored order, it was time for the bottom of the 8th inning and one of the most exciting Yankee post-season rallies ever. It all began when Todd Frazier (above) and pinch hitter Chase Headley began the inning with back-to-back singles. Brett Gardner singled Frazier home before Aaron Judge, who homer ignited the comeback his previous time up, doubled home pinch runner Jacoby Ellsbury with the tieing run. Didi Gregorius singled before Gary Sanchez (below) drove them home and gave the Yankees the lead. For the first time I recall in this Stadium, the fans' energy made the upper deck shake. You could feel it through your shoes. A trademark sensation of the old ballpark had finally transferred "across the street."

Should the Yankees reach, or dare I say, win the World Series, "The Comeback" will find its place in history alongside other classic Yankee October moments -- such as the Jim Leyritz home run in the '96 Series. As again, the 2017 Yanks dig themselves out after losing the first two games of a post-season series. It won't be easy from here -- although they Tuesday's game only reinforces the notion that these Young Yankees  are never really out of any game.
Not bad for a night that happened because I took one last look at StubHub in the hope there'd be a solo ticket for the game in the $50-75 range. I knew some Standing Room spots were being sold for $100, plus fees. They didn't grab me -- so right after lunchtime Tuesday, I went back to the site and found Section 426, Row 6, Seat 5. Decent enough seats, and with a good view of the action from high above 3rd base. And in case you're keeping tabs on me: this was my 40th game of the year, between the majors, minors, road trips and spring training. What a way to cap my season!