Darius Takes Advantage Of His OpportunityPhoto: Special to the NY Beacon   

By Andrew Rosario

  For the second time this year, the New York Football Giants found themselves down at halftime. The first time on opening day against the Tennessee Titans when they trailed 13-0. Big Blue would need a late game 2-point conversion and came away with the 21-20 win. This time against the Green Bay Packers and first ballot Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, they fell behind 20-10 as the game was played in London. First year head coach Brian Daboll has instilled a “no quit” attitude that the players have embraced. The Giants defense shut down the Packers in the second half, outscoring them 17-2 in the come from behind 27-22 win improving their record to 4-1. 

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, playing on a tender ankle, completed 21 of 27 passes for 217 yards and most importantly did not turn the ball over. Jones also ran for 37 yards. Running back Ran for 70 yards on13 carries and 1 touchdown. Barkley left the game briefly after landing on his shoulder after being tackled. Wide receiver Darius Slayton caught 6 passes for 79 yards. Said Barkley, who has not a winning record since being on the team, “It’s hard to win in this league.” Slayton had been an afterthought in the passing game catching only one pass for 11 yards. “It’s most gratifying to get the win,” he said afterward. ” I’ve just been working hard, make sure l stay ready. I knew the time would come at some point.” 

Daboll recognized the contribution of Slayton. “Mental toughness,” he said of the wide receiver. “It’s not perfect. It’s easy when everything is going great for people, everyone is saying good things about them. This young man had a good mindset and made the most of his opportunities when he had the opportunity. When you make plays, you get more opportunities and he did that.” The Giants schedule does not get any easier this Sunday afternoon when they host the high flying Baltimore Ravens and electric quarterback Lamar Jackson.

The Ravens are coming off a 19-17 against the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals 19-17. Jackson threw for 174 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception while running for 58 yards. The Big Blue defense will have their work cut out for trying to contain him. The New York Mets won 101 regular season games and all it got them was a wild card spot in the playoffs as they lost the division to the Atlanta Braves. Making matter worse, having home field advantage with all 3 games being played at CitiField against the San Diego Padres did not help them as they lost the series 2 games to 1. (See Joshua Garcia’s recap article).

The New York Yankees on the other hand, took care of their own business by winning their division earning them a first-round bye. They began the best of five series Tuesday night against the Cleveland Guardians. They sent ace Gerrit Cole who was looking to redeem himself after last year’s meltdown against the Red Sox. Cole gave up two and 3 runs in only two innings in the wild card loss to the Boston Red Sox. Yankees manager Aaron Boone could have started Nestor Cortes but elected to name Cole the game one starter. Said Cole, “it’s totally special anytime somebody gets selected to lead a team into battle.”  

Boone announced the rotation after Tuesday s Cortez will start game two and when the Yankees travel to Cleveland for game three, Luis Severino will take the mound Saturday. Said Boone, “this is one of the areas of our club that I’m really excited about heading into the postseason. We can match up with other teams’ pitchers. I feel like thins is the best way to line it up as we embark on our goal of winning a championship.

 If the New York Yankees want to win their 28^th World Championship, Cole will have to pitch light’s out. Boone will keep him on a short leash to avoid getting down early in the game and possibly losing one of the first two games at home.   This will be the first game Aaron Judge will play at Yankee Stadium since he hit his 62^nd home run against Toronto last week. He surpassed former Yankee Roger Maris who hit 61 home runs in 1961. Judge set the American League record for most home runs in a season. Only Babe Ruth (60) and Maris (61) have more. Judge lead the American League with 131 RBI but fell short in his quest for the triple crown coming in second place with a .311 batting average. Minnesota Twins Luis Arraez earned his first batting title hitting .316.