CLEVELAND — The Guardians have had a knack for staying calm during stressful moments all season. That was why the club had 29 wins while leading in the major leagues during the regular season and was confident of coming from a two-run deficit in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the American League division with an out series on Saturday night possible.
Maybe it’s a planned mentality that Cleveland has mastered. Perhaps it comes naturally for a team that doesn’t know any better, considering seven of the 26 players on the roster made their MLB debuts this season. Whatever it is, it’s got the Guardians this far and they’re confident it will lead them to victory on Sunday night.
“I know Cleveland will come up,” Guardians outfielder Will Brennan said of the expected crowd for a possible ALDS ending in Game 4. “We’re going to have a tremendous crowd, and we’re going to pull it off.”
According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Yankees must quickly undo the painful loss they suffered in Game 3 after taking a 167-0 lead as they finished ninth with multiple runs in postseason games ahead of Saturday night headed for
But if anything works in New York’s favor, it’s the fact that both teams are expected to return the same pitchers who started Game 1 — a matchup the Yankees won — back to the rubber in Game 4 send, with the Yanks facing elimination.
“We have a lot of guys in this room who’ve played in a lot of playoff games, games where the season is on the line,” Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge said. “We can’t examine that too closely. Learn from the mistakes and bring the energy [Sunday]. We can’t sit here and sulk about it. We have a big game.”
When is the game and how can I see it?
Game 4 of the ALDS takes place Sunday at 7:07 p.m. ET at Progressive Field. The game will be televised by TBS. All series are available in the US on MLB.TV with authentication from a participating pay-TV provider. Live games are also available in select countries outside of the US. For all details click here.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Yanks: Gerrit Cole (13-8, 3.50 ERA regular season) earned the Game 1 win of the ALDS, limiting Cleveland to a four-hit run over 6 1/3 innings. Cole went one and batted eight, with the only damage coming from Steven Kwan’s homer in the third inning. This will be Cole’s 16th postseason start and his sixth with the Yankees. He is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA in the postseason with New York and 9-5 with a 2.83 ERA in the postseason overall.
Guardian: Cal Quantrill (15-5, 3.38 ERA regular season) is ready to put his Game 1 loss in the rearview mirror and focus on helping the Guardians with his second matchup against Cole this week, one Earn a place in the AL Championship Series. In the series opener, Quantrill gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits (including two home runs) with five strikeouts and three walks in five innings.
What are the expected starting lineups?
Yanks: As Judge saw results by moving away from the lead position for the first time since September 8, expect him to remain in 2nd place with Gleyber Torres now at the top of the order. Otherwise, the lineup should look similar to the Americans in Game 1.
Guardian: Gabriel Arias has probably earned another chance to be in the starting XI. Cleveland has often relied on Brennan to serve as the designated hitter against right-handed pitchers. But after Arias’ 2-on-4 display on Saturday, he could see his name back in the line-up. If Josh Naylor feels healthy enough, you can expect him to be back at first base and making Arias the designated hitter.
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Yanks: Boone’s decisions late in Game 3 raised many questions, particularly in regards to getting around Clay Holmes, who pitched 16 in Game 2 and is expected to be used for the ninth inning. Boone said he didn’t want to use Holmes on back-to-back days, making him available for Game 4. Really, all hands should be on deck as it could be the last day of the Yankees season.
Guardian: Cleveland pulled off a win Saturday without burning one of his top arms. With Quantrill gone, expect a rested Trevor Stephan, James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase to serve if the game gets close.
Yanks: All of the players in the ALDS roster are healthy enough to play, although it’s worth noting that Stanton and Matt Carpenter are still not considered outfield options. The Yanks may have to advance to the ALCS to see anywhere other than a DH/pinch-hitting role.
Guardian: Naylor served as the designated hitter on Saturday to throw him off his feet a bit after ramming his right leg into first base at Yankee Stadium on Friday night. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back on first base in Game 4.
Who is hot and who isn’t?
Yanks: Bader was a bright spot in the lineup during this ALDS; he’s 3-for-11 (.273) with two home runs, his first long balls in a Yankees uniform. Judge’s two-run homer in Game 3 netted a 0-on-9 ALDS sled with eight strikeouts, but it’s his only hit of the series so far. Similarly, Stanton’s only hit of the ALDS is a homer; he is 1-for-9. No Yankees catcher has yet scored as Trevino and Kyle Higashioka are a combined 0-on-7.
Guardian: It doesn’t get much hotter than Gonzalez, who has three green hits this postseason. After putting the Guardians ahead in the 10th inning of Game 2 at Yankee Stadium, he was the hero in Game 3 at progressive field in the last inning of the ninth inning, delivering a two-run walk-off single down the middle, to give Cleveland a win before promotion to the ALCS. On the contrary, the Guardians’ capture crew is still struggling to collect some hits. Luke Maile is yet to record his first postseason hit (although his options were limited), and Hedges hits .083.
Is there anything else fans would like to know?
• In 2022, teams leading 2-1 in a best-of-five postseason series had won the series 67 of 93 times (72 percent). In the Division Series, with the current 2-2-1 format, teams that went 2-1 and played Game 4 at their home stadiums had advanced 21 out of 26 times (81 percent). In 15 of those cases, the series ended in Game 4.
• Quantrill has not lost at home since being acquired by Cleveland at the 2020 trade deadline. His 36 home starts without a loss is the second-longest streak in major league history, behind only Kenny Rogers (38).
• Judge’s 12 career postseason home runs are the fifth most by a Yankee, tied with Reggie Jackson and Yogi Berra. Berra, of course, has hit all of his in World Series games.