Goldschmidt's 430-Foot Blast Is All New York Needs

One swing. One run. That was enough. Paul Goldschmidt crushed a 430-foot home run to left center in the third inning, and New York made it stand for a 1-0 win over Boston on August 28.

The entire game lived and died on a single moment in the third inning. Goldschmidt stepped in and sent one 430 feet to left center — a solo shot that put New York up 1-0 and, as it turned out, settled the outcome right there. The win probability swung from 71% to 80% on that one swing, and Boston never found an answer. Goldschmidt finished 1-for-4 with the home run, the RBI, and the run scored — the only run of the night.

The story of the night was really the pitching on both sides, and it appears both staffs were locked in from the jump. Cam Schlittler was sharp for New York, going 5.2 innings and allowing just 2 hits, though he walked 5 and struck out 8 — a performance that looks like a pitcher who was dominant when he had to be and escaped when he wasn't. Patrick Sandoval matched him in spirit for Boston: 5.1 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts. That one earned run, of course, was the Goldschmidt homer. Sandoval did everything right except prevent that one pitch from leaving the yard. Boston's bullpen then locked things down — Wyatt Olds threw a clean inning with 2 strikeouts, and Tyron Guerrero added another scoreless frame with 1 strikeout — but by then the damage was done and the offense had nothing to show for it.

Boston's lineup had its moments on paper — Ceddanne Rafaela went 2-for-4 and Wilyer Abreu went 2-for-3 — but those hits never clustered into anything threatening. Eli White contributed a 1-for-2 line, while Nick Sogard went 0-for-5, the kind of night that looks like it summed up Boston's offensive futility in one lineup slot. Ben Rice went 2-for-4 for New York in a supporting role, but this game belonged to Goldschmidt and the pitchers. A 430-foot home run in a 1-0 game doesn't need any embellishment — it was the whole ballgame, start to finish.