Didi Gregorius hits a grand slam in Game 2 of the ALDS, a breakdown
What Happened
In the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 2 of the American League Division Series, the New York Yankees trail the Minnesota Twins by a run with the bases loaded. Didi Gregorius, the Yankees' shortstop, steps to the plate. Gregorius has hit five grand slams in his career and the Yankees desperately need a big hit here. Twins pitcher Tyler Duffy delivers a nasty breaking ball that Gregorius just manages to foul off. Duffy tries the same pitch again, but this time Gregorius is ready. He clobbers a high fastball, sending it soaring into the upper deck of Yankee Stadium. The crowd erupts as Gregorius' grand slam gives the Yankees a 4-1 lead. Gregorius' Yankees teammates, including starting pitcher Luis Severino and outfielder Aaron Judge, leap out of the dugout to celebrate. Rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres takes in the moment, perhaps watching a replay of the towering home run. Gregorius emerges from the dugout to acknowledge the ecstatic fans, who give him a thunderous curtain call. "I knew I got it," Gregorius says afterwards. "I was going to do a big backflip, but I saved that for later." Instead, he simply tosses his batting glove into the crowd, celebrating the end of his late-season slump with a game-changing grand slam in the playoffs. The dramatic home run sparks scenes of jubilation throughout Yankee Stadium. A Twins fan sitting near the Yankees dugout can be seen high-fiving a Yankees fan, admitting "You like that?" And Yankees bench coach Josh Bard, sitting in the dugout, raises his arms in triumph, shouting with excitement. This clutch grand slam from Didi Gregorius puts the Yankees in command of this tightly contested ALDS matchup against their AL Central rivals, the Minnesota Twins. With the Yankees now leading the series 2-0, Gregorius has provided a signature moment that has the Bronx faithful buzzing and the team one step closer to the American League Championship Series.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentGame two of the ALDS this one's brought
to you by stuffed grass-fed burgers in
Montclair the bases are loaded for didi
Gregorius who's got five grand slams to
his name he's been in a bit of a slide
to end the season here so he needs a big
hit and the Yankees need a big hit hunts
that fastball fouls it back wipes his
bat off starts over Duffy's gonna throw
a nasty breaking ball there
didi went hunting but it absolutely
vanishes look at that nasty pitch he
tries to throw it again the next oh that
guy didn't like it oh come on Dean he
tries to throw it again here but didi
Holtz forearm strength coming in handy
I'm says no you did not go
he didn't good call blue we appreciate
it now didi said that the game earlier
when Duffy had him two strikes he went
to his fastball so didi was ready for
the fastball here and he absolutely
clobbers the high fastball into the
upper deck into the Xu's going crazy
Severino says get on up judge says get
on up get on up the crowds like we're up
we've been up we're staying up Delon
said he called it so that's why he's
excited like this shot at Glaber is he
just taken in the crowd going wild maybe
he's watching the replay but I like to
think he was just kind of taken in the
moment pretty cool didi gets his hug
dude he gets his curtain call
dude he gets everything didi gets out of
his slump
didi gets his big moment smiles galore
for didi big hug coming up there it is a
lot of people thought he thought maybe
it went foul but he said he knew he got
it he was gonna do a big ass backflip
watch this his left hand if he follows
through he's tossing that thing halfway
through he says that's just the Diaz
it's just the twins I'll save the big
backflip for later first man up
competition he's a guy in pink and the
guy bottom writer in a race
and bottom right gets there he's the
first man up congratulations to you some
other good reactions we have his Yankees
fan who immediately goes across the
aisle to the twins fan and just goes
ahead hey you like that you like that
then we got bench coach from the sitting
position hey this one's brought to you
by stuffed grass-fed burgers in
Montclair voted best
Berger in New Jersey and if you go there
and you say john-boy you get free fries
and talk some Yanks cuz the owner is a
huge Yankees fan