The Cleveland Guardians are still waiting for the American League Championship Series to truly begin as the New York Yankees have taken a 2-0 lead after a 6-3 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday night. The Yankees are now just two wins away from their first pennant since 2009.
The game, which was expected to be a pitcher’s duel, turned out to be anything but that. Gerrit Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, struggled and only recorded one out in the fifth inning. On the other hand, Tanner Bibee of the Guardians was pulled in just the second inning.
New York got off to a quick start with a 3-0 lead, thanks in part to an error on a pop-up by Aaron Judge, which led to the first run of the game. Alex Verdugo and Judge also contributed RBIs early on. The Guardians did manage to put some pressure on Cole in the fifth inning, scoring two runs to make it a 3-2 game.
The Yankees had a chance to break the game open in the sixth inning, but some baserunning mistakes limited them to just one run. However, Judge came through in a big way with a two-run home run in the seventh to extend the lead to 6-2.
Judge, who had been struggling in the postseason, delivered a much-needed hit to help his team secure the win. The Yankees bullpen also came up big, with four relievers combining for 4.2 innings of one-run ball.
The series now shifts to Cleveland for Game 3, where the Yankees will look to continue their momentum. Cleveland will need to win two of three at home to stay alive in the series and force a return to the Bronx. Game 3 is set for Thursday at 5:08 p.m. ET, with Clarke Schmidt starting for the Yankees.
It remains to be seen who will take the mound for Cleveland in Game 3 as they face a must-win situation. The pressure is on for the Guardians to come up with a strong performance at home to keep their World Series hopes alive. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting ALCS matchup.