Martin Maldonado Has NSFW Compliment for Yankees Lineup After Gerrit Cole's Latest Gem
By Jerry Trotta
Gerrit Cole's world-beating regular season has continued on into October as the Houston Astros ace has been nothing short of sensational in his three postseason outings thus far.
What skeptics had yet to see prior to Tuesday night was Cole square off against one of the league's best lineups in the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Rays are a nice squad, but their card doesn't even compare to that of the New York Yankees.
Cole certainly didn't have his best stuff in Game 3 -- he uncharacteristically walked five batters -- but he still managed to shut down the Bombers in Game 3. When the right-hander's personal catcher, Martin Maldonado, was asked why Cole was so erratic, he delivered some profanity while complimenting the Yanks lineup.
What was (Gerrit Cole) missing with? What led to so many walks?
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) October 16, 2019
Martin Maldonado: "That's a pretty good lineup. It's not like we're facing a shitty lineup. They're a really good lineup. They are."
We certainly don't disagree with that.
Looking back at it, the Yankees could've been even more patient at the plate, considering how many first-pitch outs they made (Didi Gregorius accounted for three himself).
If you told us ahead of Game 3 that Cole would walk five batters, we probably would have told you that the Yanks walk away with an easy dub. Instead, the three-time All-Star's brilliance prevailed, as he conceded just four hits while striking out seven Yankees across seven innings of shutout ball.
The Astros seized a 2–1 lead in the ALCS behind seven shutout innings from Gerrit Cole https://t.co/okEs7spivC
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 16, 2019
Tuesday night was simply the best that baseball had to offer. The game's best pitcher was going up against one of the game's best lineups. The next time we'll see this happen? If we can reach Game 7.