The Guardians still have plenty of time to turn things around, but so far, the American League Championship Series has been a decidedly one-sided affair.
Cleveland fell to the Yankees 6-3 in Game 2 Tuesday night, giving New York a 2-0 ALCS lead as the series shifts to Progressive Field. The Guards had plenty of opportunities and even chased Yanks ace Gerrit Cole from the mound in the fifth inning, but they failed to cash in too many times with runners on base and were once again hurt by their own mistakes.
A pair of crucial errors led to gift runs for the Yankees, beginning with the first inning when shortstop Brayan Rocchio dropped a popup that brought Gleyber Torres in to score. In the sixth, after Anthony Rizzo doubled to right, Will Brennan bobbled the ball and allowed Anthony Volpe to come to the plate, giving new York a 4-2 lead after Cleveland had closed the gap from a 3-0 deficit.
In the seventh, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge finally broke through with his first home run of the postseason, a 414-foot blast to center off Hunter Gaddis. That essentially put the game out of reach, with only a ninth-inning solo homer from José Ramírez drawing the Guards a bit closer.
In what has become an unfortunate theme of these playoffs, the Guardians again failed to get much length from their starting pitcher, with Bibee lasting only 1 1/3 innings while allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk. He left with the bases loaded after intentionally walking Juan Soto to get to Judge, and manager Stephen Vogt turned to young fireballer Cade Smith in an effort to limit the damage.
Smith did his job, getting Judge to hit a sacrifice fly before striking out Austin Wells. He then retired the side in order in the third, keeping Cleveland within striking distance when it seemed like things were about to completely unravel.
Cleveland did have its chances to strike, as evidenced by Cole's final stat line of six hits, four walks, and two runs over only 4 1/3 innings. Yet despite rattling the AL's reigning Cy Young winner, the big inning never quite came.
On the night, the Guards went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 men on base. The most difficult pill to swallow might've come in the fourth, when they loaded the bases with one out and Vogt called on David Fry to pinch-hit for Bo Naylor, representing the go-ahead run.
Though Cole had just walked Andrés Giménez on four pitches, Fry swung at the first throw he saw and popped up a fastball on the upper inside corner, which settled into third baseman Jazz Chisholm's glove in foul territory. Rocchio then battled through a nine-pitch at-bat, but wound up taking strike three on the outer edge.
Even in the fifth, when the Guards were able to plate two runs to make it a 3-2 ballgame, they still managed to leave the bases loaded. Former New York closer Clay Holmes relieved Cole and induced an RBI fielder's choice from Brennan and walked Giménez before striking out Austin Hedges to quell the threat.
Due to Fry's lingering elbow issues, he was unable to play in the field, meaning Hedges was forced to replace Bo Naylor behind the plate and Fry's night was over after only one plate appearance. The Guardians' catchers have combined to go 0 for 23 this postseason, with nine strikeouts.
The Yankees finished with 11 hits, three of them from Torres and two each from Volpe and Rizzo. That trio combined to score five runs, with Judge providing the sixth on his homer and also driving in three by himself.
Playing in their sixth ALCS in club history, the Guards now find themselves down 0-2 for the first time ever in this particular series. No team has come back from an 0-2 hole to win the AL pennant since 2004, when the Boston Red Sox actually faced an 0-3 deficit before winning four straight to stun the Yanks in seven games.
Game 3 is set for late Thursday afternoon at Progressive Field. The Yankees will sent Clarke Schmidt to the hill, while the Guardians have yet to announce their starter.
