MLB Postseason Recap, Day 9: Yankees top Guardians to force decisive Game 5 tomorrow night in the Bronx

AL Division Series, Game 4: Yankees 4, Guardians 2 (Series tied, 2-2)

Outside of the Houston Astros’ three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners, teams that earned a bye into the Division Series have struggled thus far in both the American and National Leagues. One such team are the New York Yankees, who entered Sunday night’s pivotal Game 4 in Cleveland trailing the Guardians 2-1 in the best-of-five series. The pitching matchup for Game 4 was the same as Game 1’s matching up Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole with Guardians’ starter Cal Quantrill. 

Hoping to dodge elimination and force a decisive Game 5 back home in the Bronx, the Yankees got off to a hot start in Game 4. Singles by Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo put New York on the board in the top of the first, and Harrison Bader’s two-run homer – his third of the series – extended the Yankees’ lead to 3-0 in the top of the second. The Guardians reached base against Gerrit Cole in each of the first three innings, but weren’t able to get on the board until the third. Jose Ramirez drove in Steven Kwan on a fly ball single to left field, but ultimately killed a promising rally when he was thrown out after overrunning first base. Josh Naylor added a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the fourth for Cleveland, pulling the Guardians to within one and gesturing vociferously at Gerrit Cole his entire way around the bases. 

Terry Francona would remove starter Cal Quantrill after five innings, turning instead to Eli Morgan for the top of the sixth. Aaron Judge reached on a single in front of an Anthony Rizzo double to start the inning, and Giancarlo Stanton’s sacrifice fly would extend the Yankees’ lead to 4-2. Cody Morris would work a scoreless top of the seventh to keep it there, but Gerrit Cole’s dominance through seven innings left the Guardians needing a rally in the game’s final two frames. Cole would be replaced by Clay Holmes in the eighth, who walked a batter and struck out two – with a little help from the home plate umpire – en route to a scoreless inning. After Zach Plesac tossed a scoreless frame in relief for Cleveland as well, the Guardians would come to bat in the same situation they faced the previous night before their comeback – a two run deficit in the bottom of the ninth. Tonight, Wandy Peralta worked his way through the Guardians with ease to finish off the 4-2 win, sending New York home for a winner-take-all Game 5 against Cleveland tomorrow night.

Game 5: Monday, 6:07pm CT