"In a way, it's us players who have caused this situation—because we didn't perform well enough and didn't win the games, leading to Joe taking the blame for us."
"I don't want to talk big about coming from behind, we need to take one step at a time, one game at a time—let's win today's game first, show our spirit and skills to the home fans, and make the opponents realize again, we are the New York Yankees!"
With Sandman's leadership and encouragement, all the players in the dugout gathered together, shouting "Let's go Yankees" to complete their final pre-game ritual.
At 6:30 PM New York time, as Tanaka Masahiro stepped onto the pitcher's mound, the game officially began; while he was warming up, the commentators analyzed the series with the guests.
"In MLB history, teams that commanded a lead of 2-0 in division series have a 76% chance of advancing; only 7 teams have managed to overturn such a deficit."
