With his grandmother and high school coaches watching him in person for the first time as a major-leaguer, Shendendehowa graduate Ian Anderson shut down the New York Yankees again on Wednesday night.
Making his first Yankee Stadium appearance, Anderson pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his first win of the season in the Atlanta Braves’ 4-1 victory over the Yankees.
The limited-capacity crowd included 14 people with tickets provided by Anderson, including his grandmother, Beverly, and Shenendehowa head coach Greg Christodulu and pitching coach Keith Lansley.
“This was (his grandmother’s) first time seeing me pitching in the major leagues so it was awesome,” Anderson said in a Zoom conference. “I think I left like 14 tickets, so it was nice to have family there.”
The group also included his parents, Bob and Karen, who had already seen him pitch in the National League Championship Series in Texas last year, and brothers and cousins.
“I shot my dad a quick text and then after the high-fives I was able to look up there and see them, so it was nice,” Anderson said.
Shenendehowa baseball coach Greg Christodulu, who coached Ian Anderson in high school, had a great view of his former pitcher beating the Yankees on April 21, 2021. (Greg Christodulu)
Greg ChristoduluBeverly Anderson, whose husband, Bob Sr., died two years ago, has followed Ian’s career over the Internet since he was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Braves five years ago.
“My dad set her up with the MiLB log-in and all that,” Ian Anderson said. “She would watch all those (minor-league) games usually. Last year, he set her up with MLB and she started watching games even when I wasn't pitching. She enjoys it.”
She must have enjoyed watching her grandson beat the Yankees for the second time in as many tries. In his major-league debut a year ago, Anderson held New York to one run over six innings in a 5-1 victory.
On Wednesday, he allowed four hits, struck out four and walked four. Holding a 3-0 lead, he left the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh, but reliever A.J. Minter came on and got DJ LeMahieu to ground out to third to end the threat.
Anderson grew up as a Red Sox fan.
“Two wins (over the Yankees), I mean, that’s all you can ask for, so it’s awesome,” he said.
Christodulu enjoyed the game from his seat behind home plate.
“Real exciting,” Christodulu texted. “Watching him warm up in bullpen … then watching him execute his pitch plan to each NYY batter … keeping an eye on his pitch count … a lot of fun!!!”
Anderson threw 97 pitches, 65 for strikes, in an improvement from his last two starts against the Phillies and Marlins, when he allowed a combined seven earned runs in 10 ½ innings.
“I think it’s just executing a few more pitches than I did (in the previous starts),” Anderson said. “Not making as many mistakes. I did a good job keeping the ball out of the middle of the plate … But yeah, I felt just overall we stayed on the attack a lot more. I felt I was able to keep them uncomfortable and guessing a little bit more.”
Atlanta scored two runs in the fifth off Yankees starter Corey Kluber to give Anderson all the offense he needed.
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In front of family, Shenendehowa's Ian Anderson shuts down Yankees again - Times Union
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