First, the Yankees lit up Cleveland’s best reliever with home runs by Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton and Game 3 seemed to be theirs. But then the Guardians hammered the Yanks’ two best bullpen arms, capped by David Fry’s two-out, two-run, walk-off home run in the 10th inning off Clay Holmes, for a 7-5 victory at Progressive Field.
The Guardians’ win Thursday night means the AL Championship Series is now much tighter. The Yankees still hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven affair, but Cleveland currently has the advantage in mojo thanks to an improbable victory in a wild Game 3, which is destined for October classic status.
Game 4 is Friday in Cleveland.
Here are the takeaways…
-In the eighth inning, Judge and Stanton hit back-to-back home runs off superlative Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead. Judge’s homer was the 15th of his postseason career, matching Babe Ruth for fourth place on the Yankees’ all-time list. Stanton is right behind him with 14 career postseason homers.
-With two out in the eighth inning, Juan Soto walked, which led Guardians’ manager Stephen Vogt to bring in Clase to face Judge. He got ahead, 0-2, but Judge pounded a 99 mph cutter on the outside corner to the opposite field. It barely got over the right-field wall, but it was a laser, clocked at 109.9 miles per hour.
It traveled only 356 feet. It was Judge’s second straight game with a home after much scrutiny during the postseason because he did not homer in the first five games.
-Stanton’s blast came on a 1-2 pitch and the seventh pitch of the at-bat. He hit a slider. The ball went out to right-center and the homer sent the Yankee bench into a frenzy. The Guardians appealed and then challenged whether Stanton touched first base – presumably because he looked back at his teammates after he rounded the bag – but the ruling that he touched the base was confirmed. Stanton’s homer traveled 390 feet and was clocked at 106.1 mph exit velocity. Probably a good move by Aaron Boone to move Stanton up to clean up in the lineup because Cleveland started a left-hander.
-Until Clase combusted, the Guardians were able to deploy their excellent bullpen exactly the way they wanted to. After starter Matthew Boyd threw five innings, Vogt brought in Cade Smith for a scoreless sixth and Tim Herrin a shutout seventh. Hunter Gaddis got the first two outs of the eighth before walking Soto, which made Vogt switch to Clase for Judge.
During the regular season, Clase, who has led the AL in saves each of the last three seasons, had a 0.61 ERA and only gave up two home runs during this regular season. But he has given up three home runs in the postseason now.
-The Yankee bullpen had been terrific all postseason and had a 0.77 ERA entering Game 3. Holmes had thrown 6.2 scoreless innings this October; Weaver had allowed one run in seven innings and had four saves. But there were potential workload concerns looming and both star relievers gave up key home runs, dooming the Yankees on a night they thought they had a comeback win.
-The Yanks took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Anthony Volpe, who brought a .458 postseason on-base percentage into the game, walked on a 3-2 pitch with one out and went to third when Alex Verdugo doubled to right. Then Jose Trevino, who had not yet had an at-bat in the postseason, singled through the right side of the infield to knock in the game’s first run.
But with the top of the order looming, Trevino got picked off by the Cleveland starter Boyd. It was the third out on the bases by the Yankees in the last two games and it helped short-circuit a potential rally. Gleyber Torres flew out to end the inning.
-The Guardians wrested the lead away in the third inning thanks to a nifty display of power by Kyle Manzardo. With one out and a man on first, he smashed a 94 mph sinker from Clarke Schmidt over the right-field wall (108 mph off the bat, 395 feet). The 2-1 lead was the first that Cleveland has enjoyed in the series so far.
-Schmidt, the Yankee starter, was sound in his 4.2 innings of work, allowing five hits and two runs. His only painful mistake was the Manzardo homer and he made some gorgeous pitches, particularly a tumbling knuckle-curve to Jose Ramirez that ended a strikeout in the first inning with no out and runners on second. Two groundouts later, Schmidt got out of trouble unscathed.
Overall, Schmidt struck out two and walked two. This postseason, he has made two starts and gone 4.2 innings in each one, while giving up two runs in each, giving him a 3.85 ERA. Thursday, Schmidt came out after giving up a two-out double to Ramirez. Tim Hill relieved him and got the final out of the fifth inning.
-In the sixth, the Yankees lost reliever Ian Hamilton to an apparent lower-leg injury evidently suffered while covering first base. He threw a warm-up pitch but was clearly uncomfortable. He was replaced on the mound by Tim Mayza, who let an inherited runner score when Andres Gimenez singled through a drawn-in infield. Later, it was announced that Hamilton departed with tightness in his left calf.
-Boyd, the Guardians starter, continued his terrific postseason, allowing one run and two hits in five innings. The lefty walked three over that span but limited the damage to Trevino’s RBI single. Boyd struck out four. He has a postseason ERA of 0.77, allowing only one run in 11.2 innings.
-The Yankees added an insurance run in the top of the ninth that pushed their lead to 5-3, helped in part when Ramirez dropped a throw when Volpe collided with him. Volpe ran through second and was caught in a rundown, but was safe at third. He later scored on a sac fly by Torres.
Game MVP
It’s a tie! Fry, who hit his second mammoth homer of the postseason, shares it with Jhonkensy Noel, who hit a two-run, pinch-homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning off Yankee closer Luke Weaver.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees and Guardians meet for Game 4 on Friday night in Cleveland. First pitch is set for 8:08 p.m.
Luis Gil will make his 2024 postseason debut when he takes the mound against RHP Gavin Williams of the Guardians.
