By Tyler Kepner, Chris Kirschner, Brendan Kuty and Zack Meisel
NEW YORK – It wasn’t a showcase for the beauty of baseball, but the Yankees were happy to take advantage of the overmatched Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night in the Bronx. A convincing 6-3 victory in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series gave the Yankees a two-games-to-none lead as the series shifts to Cleveland on Thursday.
Aaron Judge brought in the Yankees’ first runs in unconventional ways, and their last runs with one big swing. In the first inning, Cleveland shortstop Bryan Rocchio dropped a Judge pop up, allowing one run to score, and in the second, Judge hit a sacrifice fly after the Guardians intentionally walked Juan Soto to get to him.
Then, with the Yankees leading by two runs in the seventh, Judge blasted a two-run homer to center off Hunter Gaddis, the sixth of seven Cleveland relievers. The home run scored Gleyber Torres, who had three hits, including a leadoff double off started Tanner Bibee, who collected only four outs.
The Yankees’ Gerrit Cole wasn’t much better, leaving with one out in the fifth after giving up six hits and four walks. But the Cleveland hitters repeatedly squandered scoring chances, leaving the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth and stranding 11 runners in all.
Aaron Judge finally breaks through
For just the third time in his career, the hitter before Judge was intentionally walked. It happened earlier this season against the Chicago White Sox when Juan Soto was intentionally walked. Judge then proceeded to hit the 300th home run of his career. The only other instance occurred in 2016 when Chase Headley was intentionally walked.
In the second inning Tuesday night, Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee walked Soto to load the bases for Judge. Cleveland brought in reliever Cade Smith to face Judge in a situation that could have broken the game open for the Yankees. Judge hit a sacrifice fly to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead.
Judge was 2-for-16 in the postseason when Cleveland decided it would rather face the presumptive American League MVP than Soto, who had a 1.111 OPS in the postseason when he was walked.
Five innings after the Guardians decided they’d rather face Judge, he finally broke through. Judge sent a towering fly ball into Monument Park in straightaway center field for a two-run home run, giving the Yankees a 6-2 lead in the seventh inning.
AARON JUDGE DOUBLES THE @YANKEES LEAD! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/XBzdccyp3A
— MLB (@MLB) October 16, 2024
Judge’s first home run of this postseason sent Yankee Stadium into a frenzy. Beer sprayed in the bleachers and popcorn flew through the air. It felt like Judge’s home run was an exhalation for him and his teammates. Anthony Rizzo shared an embrace with the Yankee captain long after Judge settled in the dugout, as if to say “Welcome to October.”
Another glorified bullpen game goes awry for Guardians
Indisputably, the Guardians’ greatest strength is their bullpen, which led the league in ERA by more than half a run. And, more specifically, it’s their core four relievers leading the charge: Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase, who all recorded sub-2.00 ERAs during the regular season and ranked in the Top 10 in the league in appearances. But, uh, the Guardians might need a starting pitcher to cover some ground at some point.
Cleveland’s starters have totaled 22 1/3 innings in the club’s seven postseason games. That’s a tick more than three innings per start, and it’s an indictment on the team’s rotation, which was, uncharacteristically, a source of weakness all season for an organization that has annually churned out capable starters from its pitching pipeline. It’s also a reflection of the aggressive nature of first-year manager Stephen Vogt.
Alex Cobb lasted only 2 2/3 innings in Game 1 of the ALCS, and Vogt spared his A-team of relievers from duty. So, when Tanner Bibee found himself in a second-inning pickle in Game 2, Vogt didn’t hesitate to yank his ace and turn to Smith, his favorite mess-cleaner-upper. Bibee, who threw only 39 pitches, shook his head as he walked off the mound. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits, and he wasn’t helped by his defense, as shortstop Brayan Rocchio dropped a pop-up in the first inning. With such a quick hook, Vogt needed a conga line of relievers to avoid disaster, but Erik Sabrowski surrendered a run in the sixth and Hunter Gaddis served up Judge’s blast in the seventh.
It wasn’t the Gerrit Cole the Yankees were expecting
For the second time out of three postseason starts, Cole was disappointing, lasting just 4 1/3 innings and getting pulled with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth. Cole gave up two earned runs, walked four batters and allowed six hits while also striking out four.
Cole was nails in Game 4 of the AL Division Series, helping the Yankees clinch. But he also didn’t pitch to his ace reputation in Game 1 of that series, though the Yankees won.
On Tuesday, nine of the last 15 batters Cole faced reached base. He threw 89 pitches with just 53 of them for strikes, giving him a 59.6 percent strike rate — the lowest out of any postseason start in his career, according to Inside Edge.
When Boone exited the dugout to remove Cole after he walked Lane Thomas to fill the bags in the fifth, Cole briefly threw up his hands in disappointment while on the mound.
The earliest the Yankees would bring Cole back to pitch would be in Game 6 on Monday at Yankee Stadium.
When the Yankees pulled Cole, there appeared to be confusion in the bullpen. Clay Holmes had started warming. Then lefty Tim Hill warmed up. Though Hill appeared ready, Boone brought in Holmes, a right-handed pitcher, to face lefties Will Brennan and Andrés Gimenez. Brennan’s groundout brought in a run, Giménez walked and Holmes got Austin Hedges to strike out swinging to end the inning.
Nothing from the Guardians’ catchers… or the pinch-hitter
Cleveland’s catchers have yet to reach base in 23 trips to the plate this postseason. Bo Naylor has accounted for 14 of those at-bats; Austin Hedges is responsible for the other nine. So, Vogt opted to unleash his top available pinch-hitter, David Fry, in the fourth inning in place of Naylor.
The Guardians had loaded the bases against Cole with one out, but Fry popped out to Jazz Chisholm in foul territory on Cole’s first pitch. The pinch-hit decision left Hedges, the club’s least productive hitter this season, to bat twice later in the game. Vogt has deployed pinch-hitters early in games throughout October. He turned to his bench in the second and third innings of Game 3 in the ALDS. Those moves didn’t pay dividends. In Game 4, Fry launched a pinch-hit go-ahead home run in the seventh. No such fortune, however, on Tuesday night.
(Top photo of Aaron Judge: Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
