It was a beautiful day for a win in The Bronx, New York on October 3rd. The New York Yankees were up against the Cincinnati Twins for the 2017 American League Wild Card game and 49,280 fans were waiting outside; lining 161st street just dying to get in. Nine innings and four hours later, the Yankees won with a score of 8-4.

The Yankees had the home field advantage due to their PCT being .562 and the Twins having a PCT of .525. Of course, the Twins batted first and Brian Dozier was first up and hit a leadoff home run, making the score of the game 1-0. The Twins left and center fielder, Rosario also hit a homerun in the top of the first, bringing two home. Many Yankee fans lost optimism this early in the game and believed the Yankees were done for. Luckily, this optimism came back when the Yankees tied the game in the bottom of the first with Gregorious hitting a 3-run homerun. Gardner really lifted their spirits when he hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the second, putting the Yankees only one run above the Twins. At this point, it was anyones game and fans were just sitting on the ends of their seats at Yankee Stadium or even their couches, just praying and hoping that their favorite team wins. The last run scored by the Twins was in the top of the 3rd when Buxton grounded to shortstop; allowing Policano to score and tying the game once again. The rest of the points for the Yankees were scored in the bottom of the 3rd by Sanchez, a 2-run homer by Judge, the amazing buzz-creating rookie, in the bottom of the 4th and their last one was in the bottom of the 7th by the infamous Judge again.

The full lineup for the Yankees included their best players. Infield, going from 1st to 3rd is Bird, Castro, Gregorious and Frazier and their outfield, going from left to right, was Gardner, Hicks and Judge with Sanchez as catcher and Ellsbury as designated hitter. This was consistent the whole game, unlike the Twins who switched out several players. Their infield was uniform throughout the totality of the game with Mauer at first, Dozier at second, Polanco as shortstop and Escobar at third base. Their outfield was not as stable. Left field was played by both Adrianza and Rosario, who also played center field along with Buxton and Granite. Kepler played right field throughout the entirety of the game. Their catcher was even changed from Castro to Gimenez, however their designated hitter was steady the whole game with Grossman.

Both managers of the teams did something very unconventional; they both put in many of their pitchers throughout the duration if the game. Joe Girardi of the Yankees put in five pitchers which included, Severino, Green, Robertson, Kahnle and Chapman. The Twins manager, Paul Molitor, put in a whopping number of six pitchers and the Yankees were still able to swing around them and have amazing at bats. This consists of Santana, Berrios, Hildenberger, Rodgers, Busenitz and Belisle.

Due to the fact that the Yankees won, they will advance into a 5-game series with the Cleveland Indians while the Twins 2017 season is over. Three games will be played at the Indians stadium, Progressive Field, and two games will be played at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have a very low chance of winning the World Series, but we can still be hopeful and continue to sit on the edge of our couches and pray they will win!