Next Stop: Houston

Here they are: the three Yankees difference-makers from Tuesday night's ALDS clincher.  Of course, I'll start with Nestor Cortes.  The best 36th round draft pick in Yankees history was nasty, nifty and triumphant on the mound.  His five dominating innings -- marred only by that Bermuda Triangle mashup in short left field -- built the foundation.  

Time-tested since the days of Miller Huggins, the Yankee formula has been pitching and power.  Cortes (seen here in 2019, before the arrival of his signature mustache) again exceeded expectations.  Aaron Boone admitted he'd have been happy had he held down the Cleveland lineup one time through the order.  Or maybe until power-hitter Josh Naylor's second time up.  The bottom line: Nestor stifled the Guardians through Steven Kwan's third time up.

Of course, he had a little help from his friends:

Giancarlo Stanton again came up big on the biggest stage.  His legs healthy enough and his swing finally back in sync, his three-run bomb off Aaron Civale put the game away in the bottom of the 1st.

Just to be sure, Aaron Judge sent one soaring an inning later.  The final score was 5-1 as the Yankees raised their record to 28-2 in games when both their bookend sluggers homered.

Why do I always bring a camera to games? To capture a performance, a something memorable, something quotable, something worth holding onto.