With the postseason spotlight burning bright in the Bronx, Game 1 of the AL Wild Card carried all the weight and drama fans could ask for. The Yankees trailed the Red Sox 3–1 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but with the top of their order due up, the stage was set for chaos. 37-year-old closer Aroldis Chapman was tasked with recording the final three outs. Instead, he found himself staring down a bases-loaded jam in a blink, as Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge, and Cody Bellinger all singled to ignite Yankee Stadium. What followed was as tense as it gets: Chapman bearing down, striking out Giancarlo Stanton, inducing a too-shallow Jazz Chisholm fly ball, and finally shutting down Trent Grisham to end the threat. The Red Sox hung on, but not before every Boston fan had their heart in their throat.
*** Now chatting in #OctoberChaos ***
NewPhoneWhoAroldis: 3-1 lead
top of the order
time to make history, or heartburn
*** GoldyLocks has entered the chat ***
GoldyLocks: single, baby
opposite field, professional hitter vibes
first baserunner aboard, pressure engaged
BooneDoggled: rally brewing, people
BELIEVE
*** AllRise99 has entered the chat ***
AllRise99: single up the middle
order in the court, runners on 1st and 2nd
we’re cooking
NewPhoneWhoAroldis: this was not on the script
BooneDoggled: LET’S GO BOYS
NO ONE PANIC, WE ARE WINNING THIS
/panics internally
*** BellyBombs35 has entered the chat ***
BellyBombs35: excuse me, pardon me, another single
BASES LOADED, NO OUTS
we are inevitable
Joez_Rants24: BROOOOOO
BASES JUICED FOR STANTON
THIS IS A MOVIE
*** BigGStanton27 has entered the chat ***
BigGStanton27: okay this is my moment
/swaggers in
/flexes in slow motion
time to hit one to new jersey
NewPhoneWhoAroldis: splitter, boom
strikeout
sit down, goliath
Joez_Rants24: NOOOOOOOOOOO
HE JUST STRUCK OUT
YANKEES NEVER MAKE THIS EASY
*** Jazz2Fast2Chill has entered the chat ***
Jazz2Fast2Chill: no worries fam
i bring the energy
i bring the hair
i bring the—
/shallow fly to right
oops
BooneDoggled: …that’s not what i drew up
Joez_Rants24: I HATE THIS GAME
I LOVE THIS GAME
I HATE THIS GAME
*** GrishGrind has entered the chat ***
GrishGrind: don’t worry fellas
i’ll get us—
/STRIKE THREE
…home
NewPhoneWhoAroldis: SAVED
IN YOUR HOUSE, AGAINST YOUR STARS
I AM 37 AND STILL TERRIFYING
*** JomboyBreakdown has entered the chat ***
JomboyBreakdown: alright let’s break this down
goldy singles, judge singles, belly singles — bases loaded, no outs
and then stanton swings like he’s chopping firewood
jazz tries a vibes check but forgets depth exists
grisham? swing, miss, game
chapman doesn’t smile, because he is physically incapable
Joez_Rants24: BRO HOW DO WE LOAD THE BASES AND GET ZERO RUNS
I’M GONNA LOSE MY MIND
STANTON CAN’T HIT A BEACH BALL WITH A TREE TRUNK
*** HEY GUYS THIS IS JI
*** JIM THOME has entered the chat ***
WORDUPTHOME: HEY GUYS THIS IS JI
JIM THOME
WORDUPTHOME: AROLDIS, YOU JUST TURNED YANKEE STADIUM INTO A LIBRARY
SILENCE SO LOUD IT COULD SHAKE THE BRONX
BASES LOADED, NO OUTS, AND STILL YOU ESCAPED
THAT IS WHY OCTOBER IS CRUEL AND BEAUTIFUL
*** MLB_NewsBot has entered the chat ***
MLB_NewsBot: FINAL: Red Sox 3, Yankees 1
Aroldis Chapman strands bases loaded in the 9th, striking out Stanton and Grisham to seal Game 1 of the AL Wild Card.
*** GoldyLocks has left muttering “at least I did my job” ***
*** AllRise99 has left to appeal to a higher court ***
*** BigGStanton27 has left in slow motion disappointment ***
*** Jazz2Fast2Chill has left to vibe elsewhere ***
*** Joez_Rants24 has left screaming into a pillow ***
*** BooneDoggled has left to rehearse “we battled” speech ***
*** NewPhoneWhoAroldis has left to celebrate shirtless in champagne ***
*** WORDUPTHOME has left to write “BASES LOADED, DREAMS EMPTY” in his journal ***
