Gerrit Cole on Sunday brought the New York Yankees back from the brink to keep them chasing a championship title.
Cole gave New York what they needed, seven solid innings, while Harrison Bader hit a two-run homer as the Yankees forced a decisive fifth game in the American League Division Series with a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 4.
There was no margin for error, no second chances. Cole, who failed in a similar spot in October last year, had the weight of New York’s season, the one Aaron Judge’s home-run swing made historic, on his shoulders.
Photo: AFP
He handled it, like an ace should.
“Preparing for this game, there’s an opportunity to clinch or an opportunity to go home, I didn’t approach the game any different,” Cole said. “I just went out there and did my job.”
New York’s US$324 million man, Cole allowed two runs and struck out eight in beating the Guardians for the second time in six days. He did not dominate, but Cole kept Cleveland’s hitters off base and off balance.
Bader homered for the third time in the best-of-five series, connecting in the second inning off Cal Quantrill, who came in unbeaten in 44 games at Progressive Field.
After blowing Game 3 on Saturday, when the Yankees’ bullpen had its greatest meltdown in the team’s storied post-season history, New York recovered and is headed home for a winner-moves-on game.
New York were to start Game 2 loser Jameson Taillon against Aaron Civale yesterday night at Yankee Stadium. The winner advances to meet Houston in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
Josh Naylor homered for the Guardians, who are trying to end the MLB’s current longest World Series drought in their first year after a franchise name change. Cleveland have not won it all since 1948.
With a history of post-season heartbreak, Cleveland teams are 1-7 in winner-take-all games.
“You know if you would have told me back in March, we just signed up to play Game 5 in New York to go to the ALCS, I would have jogged to New York,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “I’m excited.”
Cleveland were not supposed to be here, but they won the American League Central division, swept the Tampa Bay Rays in the wild-card round and had the Yankees on the cusp of elimination.
All Cleveland’s kids have to do now is beat the Yankees in baseball’s most hostile environment.
“It’s going to be exciting,” Civale said. “Everyone that was there saw what it was like. It’s going to be crazy, it’s going to be a lot of screaming and a lot of fans. But at the end of the day it’s noise.”
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