Kyle Higashioka showed why he’s become Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher during a key moment in the ALDS. With the Yankees holding a one-run lead and the Rays threatening, Cole tried to pitch carefully around G-Man Choi, a hitter who has owned him in past matchups. The plan was to keep everything out of the zone and hope Choi would chase. That requires trust in your catcher, especially with a runner on third and the risk of a wild pitch. Higashioka proved worthy of that trust with a crucial block on a curveball that almost got away after a signaling mix-up. Cole and Higgy had agreed pre-pitch on a curve to open, so no sign was used. On the next pitch, they went back to using sign sequences but Cole may have forgotten which set they were on. The confusion led to a cross-up, but Higashioka made a diving stop to keep the go-ahead run from scoring.
Earlier in the game, Higashioka also delivered at the plate. Batting in the nine hole against Blake Snell, he tied the game with a solo home run off a fastball after taking two curveballs. That plate appearance could have changed the course of the inning if the umpire had called the second pitch a strike. Snell clearly wanted that pitch back. Later, Higgy’s homer helped push Snell out of the game. To cap it off, the camerawork during those moments was sharp, tracking the action from mound to plate and capturing everything cleanly. Even Gary Sánchez, on the bench while Higgy caught Cole, looked pumped for his teammate. Higashioka made an impact on both sides of the game when it mattered most.