3 key moments from Monday’s Phillies-Yankees clash

Monday night was the first game in an early season matchup of what could be a World Series preview. The reigning National League champion Philadelphia Phillies headed to 161st street in the Bronx for three games against the New York Yankees.

Let’s look at three key moments from Monday night’s Phillies-Yankees game

#100

Gleyber Torres has been off to a surprisingly good start this season. It’s hard to think just a week ago Yankees fans were calling to trade the 26-year-old All-Star.

Torres smashed his second home run of the season Monday night against the struggling Phillies. That home run was the 100th of the Yankees’ young second baseman’s career.

Check out that shot below.

Torres is hitting .333 with two home runs, five runs, four RBI, and three stolen bases. He reached base five times Monday night for the first time in his career. He looks like he is off to a career-defining season and silencing the critics calling for him to be traded.

Super Mario pops up in Phillies-Yankees game

Nestor Cortes had a gem of a game against the Phillies as well. Cortes struck out three Phillies over five innings, only giving up one run on the night.

But the real highlight came in a stunningly astute play by the pitcher. After a bloop single by JT Realmuto led to an errant throw by Oswaldo Cabrera trying to save a run from scoring (ultimately overthrowing Jose Trevino), Cortes brilliantly snagged the ball with a Super-Mario-style leap and threw out a retreating Brandon Marsh at third.

Watch the video below.

It was a jump-out-of-your-seat play for Nestor Cortes and the Yankees, preventing the Phillies from getting back in the game.

Poor Phillies defense

The Phillies, an NL favorite to go back to the World Series, are struggling mightily so far this season. Of course, there is a lot of baseball to be played, and the reigning NL champs start the season on a challenging road trip, so there is no reason to panic … yet. But the poor defensive plays piled up the runs in Monday’s shellacking by the Yankees and helped cost Philadelphia the game. Plays like this below have to stop if the Phillies want to prevent this season-opening skid from becoming a season-defining losing streak.

Recap of Monday’s Phillies-Yankees game

New York scored eight runs on just eight hits in the win on Monday. They controlled the game from start to finish, and the Phillies (playing without some injured key players) looked overmatched from the start. Philadelphia, the first NL pennant winner to start the following season 0-4 since the 1984 Phillies, will look to bounce back on Tuesday night against the Yankees and Domingo German. If they do not, they will be going into game three of the interleague series facing ace Gerrit Cole on a five-game losing streak to start the season.