NEW YORK – For the second time in three seasons, the Yankees will meet the Cleveland Guardians in October.
This time, it is within the best-of-seven AL Championship Collection, starting Monday evening at Yankee Stadium – a fast turnaround for Cleveland after its five-game Division Collection win towards the Detroit Tigers.
Lane Thomas’ fifth inning grand slam off Detroit’s lefty ace Tarik Skubal despatched the Guardians towards a 7-3 victory at Cleveland on Saturday afternoon, establishing an ALCS between the AL Central and AL East champs.
Listed below are three issues to learn about Cleveland heading into this collection to determine the AL pennant:
Yankees’ current playoff historical past vs. Cleveland
This would be the fourth Guardians-Yankees postseason assembly since 2017, with the Yanks successful all three earlier conferences.
The final time was the 2022 AL Division Collection, when Cleveland misplaced regardless of taking a 2-1 lead within the best-of-five. Dealing with elimination, Gerrit Cole rescued the Yanks on the highway in Recreation 4.
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In the course of the pandemic 12 months of 2020, the Yanks swept two video games at Cleveland to take the wild card collection.
And in 2017, Joe Girardi’s final 12 months as Yankees supervisor, his membership got here again from an 0-2 deficit in video games to win the Division Collection – taking Recreation 5 at Cleveland.
Earlier than that, the Yanks misplaced the 2007 ALDS, with the well-known “Lake Erie Midges’’ occasion in Recreation 2.
On the way in which to their second world championship underneath Joe Torre, the Yanks rallied previous Cleveland in a six-game ALCS, a 12 months after Sandy Alomar’s pivotal Recreation 4 homer off Mariano Rivera boosted Cleveland previous the Yankees in a five-game ALDS.
Rookie supervisor guides Guardians to ALCS
Taking on for the legendary Terry Francona, rookie Guardians supervisor Stephen Vogt, 39, guided Cleveland to a 92-69 report and a division title, 6.5 video games higher than Kansas Metropolis and Detroit.
Within the ALDS, Vogt’s membership confronted elimination after Recreation 3 and rebounded with a gritty 5-4 victory in Recreation 4 at Detroit to pressure the winner-take-all Recreation 5 at Progressive Discipline.
An enormous-league catcher for 10 years, largely with Oakland, Vogt retired after the 2022 season and joined the Seattle Mariners teaching employees in 2023 earlier than being named Cleveland’s supervisor.
“Coming in for the primary time, contemporary off the enjoying subject…he is performed an important job,” Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone mentioned of Vogt.
With the 2024 Guardians, Vogt has had success with “sort of a bullpen-centric sort of theme, and in addition enjoying numerous platoon benefits in numerous conditions,” mentioned Boone. “I feel he is performed a very nice job with that.”
Yankees-Guardians head-to-head in 2024
In six conferences this 12 months, the Yankees went 4-2 towards the Guardians.
Means again in mid-April, the Yanks took two of three at Cleveland, which included a doubleheader brought on by a rainout.
At Yankee Stadium in mid-August, the Yankees took two of three once more, together with a 6-0 victory began by Cole through which the Guardians had only one hit.
“Cleveland all 12 months has sort of been that frontrunner within the Central,” mentioned Boone. “They’ve put collectively a constant, strong 12 months they usually do it in numerous methods – an incredible bullpen, athletic, they defend very well.”
Emmanuel Clase has led the AL in saves in every of the final three seasons, and he is coming off a 47-save season with a shocking 0.61 ERA. In Recreation 5, Clase’s six-out save delivered Cleveland to the ALCS.
“They’re fairly balanced of their assault (with) a pair guys who can actually damage you in the course of the order,” mentioned Boone, with “a celebrity participant” in Jose Ramirez (39 HR, 118 RBI, .872 OPS within the common season).
Cole gave up one hit over six innings in that Aug. 22 recreation however walked 5 batters in that recreation and struck out two.
In response to Boone, Cole is lined as much as begin Recreation 2 on Tuesday evening at Yankee Stadium, which might additionally arrange the Yankees’ ace to begin Recreation 6, or probably Recreation 5 (if wanted) on brief relaxation.