Game 4 Orioles Recap: Wednesday 7/11: 9-0 WIN: Sonny is back (kinda) and the bats were ALIVE

THERE WE GO. That is exactly what we needed. Exactly what the doctor ordered, if you will.

What’s that saying? An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.

Here’s a new one: A Yankee blowout every other day, and Sonny Gray pitching well, keeps me from having a heart attack!

Hmm. Doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it, but I’ll take it.

This was a massive win. Yes, it was against the shitty Orioles…but if we lost 3 out of 4 games to Baltimore? That would have been horrible.

Yes, we would have been fine in the long run. But limping into the All-Star Break like that would have really been unfortunate.

Thankfully, we salvaged the 4 game set, kicking the absolute shit out of them last night. A 9-0 shut out! It was a beatdown. A murder scene. A shellacking. Any way you want to script it, it was a great win for us.

And boy, Sonny Gray NEEDED this. His back was against the wall. Literally and figuratively. If he had another rough performance, there’s a possibility that Boone would have pulled him from the starting rotation.

And, in a literal sense, I would have helped lead the charge of Yankee fans to corner Sonny against an actual wall, and proceed to beat the shit out of him. Like Kramer when he gets cornered by the “street thugs” in Seinfeld.

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BUT, thankfully, it didn’t come to that!

I’m glad, by the way. I wasn’t in the mood to resort to violence.

Here is Sonny’s stat line:

6 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 8 K’s. THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT SONNY. LET’S GO. I think I can speak for all Yankee fans when I say this:

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You have bought yourself another start. Congratulations. BUT, if you fuck up again, I’ll resume hating you. I cannot trust you yet. Put together a string of good starts, and then we’ll talk…

But, for real, Sonny was locked in last night. He was more locked in than Joey Chestnut during this past Hot Dog Eating Contest (world record of 74 dogs)

Take a look and see how dialed in this dude was.

To just run through the rest of the pitchers really quick, AJ Cole pitched a shutout 7th and 8th, giving up 2 hits, but striking out 2. He has been getting a lot more work, as of late. It used to be super rare seeing this guy pitch. Like a Bill Belichick smile.

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That’s a winning smile, if I’ve ever seen one…

After Cole’s day was done, Boonie threw Shreve into the only situation I feel comfortable having him pitch. A 9 run lead. Perfect!

If he only comes into games with a 5 run lead, or more, I will continue to tolerate his presence on the team. That’s a promise.

Okay, now let’s get to the offense!

Giancarlo got it started with a RBI single in the third. Then, two batters later, Greg “I’m like a bird, I only fly awayyy” Bird came to the plate. Based LOADED. Loaded like a plate of delicious nachos.

And he did this:

GREG BIRDDDDD LET’S GOOO!

A three run homer the night before, and a grand salami in this game! DON’T LOOK NOW. Greg is heating up!

We needed to this from Old Greggy. I’ve never been the biggest Bird fan, but I know the potential this guy has when he is healthy. Love to see him producing.

We kept this 5-0 lead for a few innings and then we got…

TYLER WADE! The first homer of his career! Wooooo Tyler!

And, of course, he got the silent treatment when he returned the dugout.

Welcome, Ty. Now, you really and truly have arrived.

Then, everyone’s favorite backup catcher decided to add to the homer parade!

RO RO! There we go, Austin! As I said above with Bird, don’t look now! Because this guy is heating up too!

For the last two runs, Hicksy grounded into a fielder’s choice and Giancarlo “The Terminator” had another RBI single. This man has been a machine (like the Terminator, get it?)

He was 4 for 5 last night and his average has now risen to .276. It’s a shame that he didn’t win the All Star Fan Vote, but I cannot wait to see this guy ball out in the second half of the year.

For those who don’t know, G hit 33 homers for the Marlins after the All Star Break last year. Holy shit.

I’m not expecting that total, but I’m confident he will have a hell of a second half.

TONIGHT, in just about a half hour, we start a big AL battle against the Indians in Cleveland. A nice little rematch of last year’s ALDS.

And we get an ACE Battle tonight. Sevy vs. Kluber.

Oh baby, this should be a good one. Let’s start off with a nice dub.

LET’S GO YANKS

Follow me on Twitter @JohnFerraro_

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