Yankees 6, Guardians 3
The New York Yankees took advantage of their opponents’ mistakes and missed opportunities en route to a 6–3 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game Two of the ALCS Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium in New York.
Gleyber Torres went 3-for-5 for the Yankees to lead the offensive charge, notching a double and scoring two runs. Anthony Volpe and Anthony Rizzo added two hits apiece to the Bronx Bombers’ offensive tally.
“Our bottom of the order could be the top of our order,” Rizzo said in the postgame press conference. “Our top of the order is so potent and so good. We know our role down at the bottom. We just want to get it to the next guy. That’s been our mentality.”
Yankees – Guardians Game Summary
The Yankees opened the scoring, taking a 1–0 lead with an unearned run in the bottom of the first. With runners on the corners and no outs, Aaron Judge hit a sky-high popup near the bag at second. Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio tracked it, but the ball drifted toward the right side of the infield. Rocchio, on the move, dropped it. The ball squirted into shallow right, allowing the runner to score from third as everyone was safe. More scoring came in the second, as a double to left by Alex Verdugo scored the Yankees’ second run and a bases-loaded sacrifice fly from Judge made the score 3–0.
The Guardians cut their deficit to 3–2 in the fifth after a sacrifice fly by Josh Naylor and a run-scoring fielder’s choice grounder by Will Brennan. But they left the bases loaded, wasting a chance to tie or take the lead. The Yankees got those two runs back, plus one more, in the sixth and seventh. A one-out double to right by Anthony Rizzo in the sixth scored Anthony Volpe from first, aided by a fielding error by Brennan, the Guardians’ right fielder. In the seventh, a two-run homer to center by Judge — his first of the 2024 postseason — gave the Yankees a 6–2 lead. A ninth-inning home run by Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez — also his first of the 2024 postseason — completed the scoring.
What Went Right for the Guardians
Traffic on the Bases
The Guardians produced 14 baserunners, eight off hits and the other six on walks.
Scored against Weaver
Yankees closer Luke Weaver has been phenomenal in the 2024 postseason. When Ramirez hit the ninth-inning home run off Weaver to get a consolation run, it gave the Guardians a moral victory. It showed that the Yankees’ fireman is not invincible, something that can help the Guardians psychologically as the series shifts to their home ballpark.
What Went Wrong for the Guardians
Couldn’t Get the Big Hit
The Guardians left multiple runners on base in the third through fifth innings. This included leaving the bases loaded in both the fourth and the fifth. Although the Guardians brought two runs across in the fifth, they squandered a chance to take the lead.
Additionally, the Guardians went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. They left eleven runners on base — five in scoring position.
Fell Behind Early
The Guardians trailed 1–0 at the end of the first and 3–0 at the end of the second. Starting pitcher Tanner Bibee only recorded four outs, with six of the eleven hitters he faced reaching base. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits, walking one and striking out two across 1 1/3 innings.
What Went Right for the Yankees
Took Advantage of Guardians Mistakes
The Yankees made the Guardians pay for their two fielding errors, as both led to runs. When Rocchio dropped the infield popup in the first inning, Torres scored from third. Brennan’s bobble of the Rizzo double in the right-field corner in the sixth allowed Volpe to score from first instead of holding him at third.
Top of Lineup Production
Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto, and Aaron Judge — the leadoff, second, and third hitters in the Yankees batting order — combined to go 5-for-11 at the plate with a double, a home run, a sacrifice fly, a walk, three RBI, and three runs scored.
Bottom of Lineup Production
The Yankees’ 7–8–9 hitters — Anthony Volpe, Anthony Rizzo, and Alex Verdugo — also contributed nicely. They combined to go 5-for-10 with two doubles, two walks, an RBI, and three runs scored.
Bounceback for Hill
Reliever Tim Hill had more go wrong than right in Game One, having three of the four batters he faced reach base while allowing a run and committing an obstruction violation. Game Two was a different story, with Hill bouncing back nicely. He retired all five hitters he faced, including one by strikeout.
What Went Wrong for the Yankees
Starting Pitching
Staff ace Gerrit Cole did not survive the fifth. He allowed two runs on six hits across 4 1/3 innings, walking four and striking out four.
Baserunning
The Yankees ran into two outs in the sixth. Jazz Chisholm made the first out of the inning when he was picked off second, erasing his leadoff double. The last out of the inning came when Anthony Rizzo started to run from second on a pitch in the dirt. Guardians catcher Austin Hedges had blocked it enough to keep the baseball close to the plate, retrieving it before Rizzo had even made it halfway to third. This resulted in a 2–4–5–6–5 rundown.
Quick Hits
The Guardians used eight pitchers, tying a franchise record. It is the fifth time in franchise history and second in 2024, also happening in Game Five of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers. … With his third-inning single, Rocchio has now hit safely in all seven of the Guardians’ 2024 postseason games. He now holds the Cleveland franchise record for longest hit streak to begin a postseason career. … Steven Kwan extended his postseason hit streak to 12 games with his leadoff single in the fifth. The streak dates back to Game One of the 2022 ALDS and is the longest postseason hit streak for an American Leaguer since a 16-game streak by Michael Brantley of the Houston Astros in 2020–21.
This was the first postseason game to see the Yankees take the lead on an error since Game Two of the 2009 ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels, when Jerry Hairston Jr. scored a walk-off run in the 13th inning thanks to a throwing error by Maicer Izturis. … Aaron Judge now has 14 postseason homers in his career, fifth in Yankees history. He trails Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20), Mickey Mantle (18), and Babe Ruth (15). (Since Ruth and Mantle played before divisional play began in 1969, their homers came solely in the World Series.)
The Rizzo rundown’s scoring of 24565 is the ZIP code for Java, Virginia. … This was the 29th postseason game ever played between the Indians/Guardians and Yankees, the most among any American League opponents. They have previously met in the 1997, 2007, 2017, and 2022 ALDS as well as the 1998 ALCS. … The only postseason matchups with more games played are Yankees vs. Dodgers (66 games, none since 1981) and Yankees vs. Giants (43 games, none since 1962).
Quotes
“Absolutely nothing. We just need to keep being us. This is who we are. We’ve lost two games. That’s true. We have an opportunity to go home, play in front of our fans. This is who this baseball team is. We don’t quit. We kept fighting. Did it again tonight. I’m excited to get home to Cleveland and play in front of our fans.” — Guardians manager Stephen Vogt on what the team needs to change to prepare for the next three games
“You’ve got to keep moving. We need two more here, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We just talked about it. It’s one game at a time. Excited to hand Clarke [Schmidt] the ball in Game 3 and hopefully try and get another one.” — Yankees manager Aaron Boone
Looking Ahead
Clay Holmes chalked up the win in relief as Tanner Bibee took the loss. There was no save.
After a day off Wednesday, the Yankees and Guardians will play Game Three Thursday at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Clarke Schmidt (5–5, 2.85 ERA in the regular season) will be the starting pitcher for the Yankees; the Guardians had yet to name a starter as of press time. First pitch will be at 5:08 pm Eastern on TBS, truTV, and the Max streaming service.
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