Written by Tyler Kepner, Chris Kirshner, Brendan Kuti, Zach Meisel
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians, three games behind the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, came from behind to win 7-5 in a thrilling 10 innings on Thursday at Progressive Field. .
David Fry was the final hero on a packed night for the Guardians, who are now two games and one point behind. After an inning in which Kensie Noel tied the game with two outs and two runs off Luke Weaver, Frye hit a game-ending two-run homer to Clay Holmes, electrifying the chilly crowd of 32,531. .
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “It should be a great game to witness.” “It was playoff baseball. Both sides came in with haymakers.”
In the bottom of the 9th inning, trailing by two runs, with two outs and the bases loaded, the Guardians gained momentum when Lane Thomas hit a double into the high wall deep in left-center field. Manager Steven Vogt sent Noel to the bat of Daniel Schneemann and got exactly what he wanted. It was definitely a game-winning rocket into the left field seats.
It was the first save in five playoff chances for Weaver, who played in all seven of the Yankees’ postseason games. Following a surprising fumble by Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, they lost the lead in the eighth inning with back-to-back home runs. First Aaron Judge tied it, then Giancarlo Stanton hit to put the Yankees ahead. , 4-3.
After Noel tied the game in the 9th inning, Pedro Avila struck out Anthony Volpe, leaving the Yankees with two runners on in the top of the 10th inning. In the bottom of the inning, Bo Naylor singled to Holmes, and after a bunt and grounder, Frye hit a 399-foot one-two sinker into the left field seats for the win.
The big Christmas is coming early
The Guardians were trailing until the final out, but after the Yankees’ two big sluggers attacked Cleveland’s top relievers, it was time for the Guardians’ edge rusher-sized masher to strike back. Noel hit an 88 mph changeup, immediately hung up his bat, put his head down and began the most memorable trot around the bases of his career. These two runs landed in the middle of the left field seats, saving the Guardians from a crushing defeat.
Noel was promoted to the majors in June and hit a home run to center field in his first career at bat with Baltimore. For most of the summer, he exercised his useful right-handed muscles. However, in September, Noel had 6 hits for 51 at bats, 0 home runs, 18 strikeouts, and an OPS of .363. He was 1-for-15 in the postseason until his moonshot in the ninth inning. But the 6-foot-3, 250-pound slugger, nicknamed “Big Christmas” by his manager, was a constant power threat and came off at the perfect time for Cleveland.
Stanton, judge turns the tide.
When the Yankees traded for Giancarlo Stanton in December 2017, they envisioned pairing him with Aaron Judge for slugging power heading into the World Series.
Nearly seven years later, Thursday night, they may have realized that dream.
Judge’s two-run home run in the eighth inning tied the game at 3-3, and he faced reliever Emmanuel Clase, perhaps the best closer in baseball. It seemed like the team’s high point until Stanton sank a solo shot in his next at-bat to put the Yankees ahead.
It was Judge’s second home run of the game and second of the postseason. This was Stanton’s third home run of the playoffs.
Judge’s home run was a 99.2 mph fastball that sailed over the outside of the plate, slammed into the right field seats at 169.9 mph, and the ball barely cleared the 356-foot wall. When he rounded first base, the Yankees dugout exploded.
Stanton ended his seven-pitch at-bat with a 166.1 mph, 390-foot home run to right-center field. After Stanton crossed home plate, Cleveland asked the umpires to check whether Stanton’s feet actually touched first base as he rounded the bases. It didn’t work.
Stanton, the major league’s current home run leader with 429 home runs, has a batting average of .308 and an OPS of 1.131 in the playoffs, showing his best performance when the Yankees need him the most.
It was an epic momentum shift. At one point, the Yankees were without a batter on base for 13 consecutive years, but they fought back against Cleveland’s most feared pitcher.
Crace’s postseason nightmare continues.
Cleveland’s closer allowed five earned runs and two home runs in 74 1/3 innings during the regular season. He had six earned runs and three home runs in six innings during the postseason. In Game 3, Judge and Stanton took him deep and changed the course of the ALCS in the span of eight pitches.
The Guardians script played out exactly how they envisioned it. Matthew Boyd, despite joining the team a few months ago after recovering from elbow surgery, has somehow been the team’s most consistent starter, pitching an additional five innings and becoming Cleveland’s starter in October. He pitched the longest inning. Cade Smith easily penetrated the Yankees’ center field with 10 pitches. Tim Herrin and Hunter Gaddis recorded five outs, setting the stage for Clase to secure a four-out save against the Yankees’ powerhouse.
Gaddis hit Judge with two runs in Game 2, and Clase suffered the same fate in Game 3. Stanton hit a 90 mph slider over the center field wall. This is the first time Clase has allowed multiple home runs in one game.
Hamilton’s departure may be a concern
Yankees relief pitcher Ian Hamilton, who last pitched in Game 2 of the American League Division Series 10 days ago, left Thursday’s game after facing two batters. He gave up a walk to Lane Thomas starting in the sixth inning, then induced a ground ball from Daniel Schneemann and was forced to cover first base on a bang-bang play on the bag.
Hamilton threw one warm-up pitch after the play, but it hit the backstop, prompting manager Aaron Boone and a trainer to examine him. He later withdrew from the game with a strained left calf.
The right-handed relief pitcher missed nearly three months of the regular season with a latissimus dorsi injury and faced a minor setback due to back spasms while rehabbing.
If Hamilton is removed from the roster, Mark Leiter Jr. will likely take his place in the ALCS. Boone said at the start of the series that if the Yankees had used 13 pitchers, Reiter would have been included.
The Yankees have indicated that Luke Weaver, Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle and Tim Hill are the four most reliable relievers, with Hamilton at the top of the next group. The Yankees have games scheduled for Friday and Saturday, so they may need all kinds of depth in the bullpen.
(Top photo of David Fry: Jason Miller/Getty Images)
