The New York Yankees are two wins away from reaching their first World Series since 2009. A 5-2 win on Monday over the Cleveland Guardians followed by a 6-3 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday has the Bronx Bombers up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
The teams have moved on to Cleveland for the next three contests beginning tonight with Game 3 (5:08 p.m.). Game 4 is tomorrow (8:08 p.m.) and Game 5 if necessary is Saturday (8:08 p.m.). During the regular season, the Guardians had the league’s best home record, going 50-30, while the Yankees had the best road mark at 50-31.
In Game 1, home runs by Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton opened and completed the Yankees scoring. The other three runs were courtesy of the Guardians pitchers, who issued seven walks and threw five wild pitches, four by reliever Joey Cantillo. Conversely, Yankees starter Carlos Rodon excelled. He allowed just one run on six hits, striking out nine in six innings of work.
He did give up his customary home run to the opposition and also gave up one in the opening round versus the Kansas City Royals, but he was extremely tough, mixing his slider with his fastball more than in his previous start.
“The goal was to stay in control, physically and emotionally. I thought I did that well tonight,” said Rodon after the victory in the Bronx.
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole started Game 2 and lasted only 4 2/3 innings while giving up six hits and walking four. However, as Cole said afterwards, he had a “bend but don’t break” mindset, and exited the game with a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning. The Yankees bullpen, which has become their best weapon in the playoffs, took over.
Clay Holmes, who was officially credited with the win, Tim Hill, Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver stopped the Guardians’ rally in the fifth and allowed only two hits and one run the rest of the way. For the series, the Yankees pen has given up a mere two runs and have eight strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings.
This is after not allowing a run in 15 2/3 innings versus the Royals. Aaron Judge, the leading candidate for the American League regular season MVP award, was also a factor in this game, driving in three runs and hitting a two-run homer in the 7th inning to help seal the victory.
Up until then, this year’s playoffs haven’t been memorable for Judge in terms of his individual play. His .167 batting average and .389 slugging percentages are well below his regular season numbers of .322 and .701. Teams have attacked him, something he probably wasn’t ready for because he was pitched around during the regular season. Judge also led MLB in walks with 133. Better pitching in the playoffs is presenting a challenge for him, but maybe his first home run will get him going for the rest of the series.
Gleyber Torres has also been a force at the top of the lineup for the Yankees, hitting .292 for the playoffs with seven runs scored and six walks. Baserunning mistakes have been glaring for the Yankees and their defense has been spotty at times. Yet, winning ugly can be beautiful.
Beautiful article on my Yankees. Thank you for that. Now let’s meet.