Gio Urshela hits a go-ahead grand slam and saves the game on defense, a breakdown
What Happened
Gio Urshela of the New York Yankees steps up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded, his team trailing the Cleveland Indians by one run in the American League Wild Card Series. The Yankees have just removed starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco from the game, bringing in the Indians' top relief pitcher, the hard-throwing "Wild Thing." Urshela digs in, the tension palpable as he works the count to 3-2. The pitcher fires a fastball and Urshela absolutely unloads on it, launching a towering grand slam over the wall to give the Yankees a 9-8 lead. Urshela admires his handiwork, flipping his bat and pumping his fist as his teammates erupt in celebration around him. Earlier in the game, with the Indians leading 9-8 in the eighth inning, Urshela makes a spectacular defensive play to save a run. With a runner on second base, the ball is hit behind Urshela, who reaches back, scoops it up and starts an inning-ending double play. His heads-up play prevents the Indians from extending their lead and keeps the Yankees within striking distance. In the top of the ninth, Urshela singles and comes around to score the winning run, capping off an incredible all-around performance. After the game, Urshela is awarded the team's "championship belt" as the player of the game, a testament to his heroics on both offense and defense. Urshela's grand slam off the hard-throwing rookie reliever is the decisive blow, giving the Yankees the lead late in a high-stakes playoff game. His ability to come through in the clutch, both at the plate and in the field, proves critical in the Yankees' comeback victory. Urshela's timely hitting and highlight-reel defense play a central role in the team's hard-fought win, securing their advancement in the playoffs.
Why This Matters
Gio Urshela walked into a do-or-die Wild Card moment against Cleveland with the bases loaded in the ninth, down by one, and absolutely crushed a go-ahead grand slam to walk off. Then he turned around and made a clutch defensive play to seal it. This is peak postseason drama and Jomboy breaks down every pitch leading up to the biggest swing of the series.
Nearly 575K people have watched this breakdown, making it the 544th most-viewed Jomboy video of all time.
Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Gio Urshela.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentgeorgella had himself a game
in the wild card series bases are loaded
he's coming up they take cookie carrasco
out they bring the young rookie the best
reliever the indians have all season
wild thing in this one's brought to you
by draftkings he's breathing heavy first
post season appearance
trying to catch his breath geo swinging
at the fastball takes that fastball high
one and one he drops a nasty curveball
right there i think this
could have been and should have been
called a strike i think it clipped his
own tom payne the umpire behind the
plate
crazy zone then espn shows us that
behind the plate view
which no one enjoys because you don't
get to see what the pitch did i'm
guessing it was low
they said he swung though it's two and
two and he's thrown
two straight curve balls you can see his
knuckle is up down here here comes
another
curveball and he spikes that one just
spikes it now it's a 3-2 count
he's tossing the ball around thinking
i've thrown three curve balls in a row
i can't throw another curveball because
then if he misses and he takes it like
the last couple
i'll walk in a run i gotta go fastball
here okay let's bring the a game got to
go fastball i know it
he knows it whole damn stadium knows it
if i had balls i'd throw my curveball
but i don't because i'm scared
bam geo sitting fastball
absolutely rocks it was a good pitch too
it was on the corner but he's sitting it
rocks it the bad flip
the pimp job whoo points out his
teammates gets
fired up george shellac karen check eats
his glove enjoys the taste
what a moment dj's going crazy haps get
all surprised oh my god
he gets to punch his third base coach
right in the gut bam
gotcha nevin he gets to give his hitting
coach a big ol
hug gives the yankees the lead and even
sweeter
this is the team that dfa'ed him the
indians
dfaed him back in 2018.
he didn't have a bat then his offense
wasn't phenomenal
they gave up on him blue jays took him
they gave up on him
yankees paid 25 grand for him said we
think we can maybe get you to be a
hitter
now he's a beast not only with the bat
let's jump to the eighth inning
let's jump to the eighth inning the
cleveland has taken the lead nine to
eight there's one
out lindor's on second he's got speed
there's two on
need to hold it at one run if you want
to try and come back and win
and look at this play by giorshella the
ball is behind him scoops it up from his
ass starts the inning ending double play
i can't get over this play
the ball ball's behind him the ball is
behind him
he gets it he swings his legs around to
get the
the balance and get some momentum behind
the throw and from here on out
it's as easy as pie and both guys are
out and 40 points them out
good job yeah it is a good job because
if this ball gets through
no one's saying damn it geo booted a
play they're just saying well that was a
rocket
and lindor is probably scoring that
makes it 10 to eight
and it's still one out runners on
instead
they hold him at one and the inning is
over all because geo
the god urschell is having the game of
his life then
in the top of the ninth he helps the
comeback gets a hit here
he's on second after they tie it he
scores the winning run when dj pokes
that one up the middle
he's all over this game he turned
another double play earlier from third
base
just had himself a phenomenal game he
was asked about it
the yankees give out a little belt to
the best player of the game
do you think geo got it do you um who
got the championship belt
yes he got it go to draftkings download
draftkings use promo code john boy
pick up george shella geo the god he's
the best ever he's the cutest i love him
with my full
heart he changed the entire course
of that game both sides of the ball