Brett Gardner had a gritty at-bat against Justin Verlander that helped set up the Yankees for a potential big inning. It started with Verlander walking Gio Urshela, the nine-hole hitter, which put the top of the order up. Gardner stepped in and quickly took control of the count. Verlander opened with a changeup on the edge, a solid pitch, but Gardner laid off. Another off-speed offering missed wider, and suddenly it was 2-0 with Aaron Judge looming on deck. Verlander came back with a borderline fastball to make it 2-1, then a perfectly spotted changeup made it 2-2.
Gardner fouled off a hanging slider next, which could’ve been a mistake pitch, but Verlander kept attacking. Another slider dipped in the dirt for ball three. With Urshela running on a full count, Verlander went upstairs with heat. Gardner fouled it off, then got another high fastball and finally poked it through the shift. Urshela hustled to third, and the Yankees had two on with no outs and their biggest bat coming up. Gardner didn’t get a homer or a flashy hit, but he worked one of the smartest at-bats of the night against a future Hall of Famer.