Cleveland Guardians vs NY Yankees ALDS Preview

CLEVELAND, OH –

The Cleveland Guardians ended the regular season on a tear winning 24 of their last 30 games. That momentum followed them right into the postseason with a 2-0 Wild Card Series sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays. Pitching was a big part of their Wild Card success. Their team era through the 2 games was an incredible 0.38 ERA. They look to carry that same success into the ALDS against the power bats of Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees. 

 

Games 1-3

Game 1 of the ALDS is set for Tuesday night at 7:37PM in New York. Cal Quantrill (15-5 3.38 ERA) takes the mound for the Guardians. New York will send their ace Gerrit Cole (13-8 3.50 ERA) to the bump for the Yankees. Cal Quantrill post All-Star break was nearly perfect. He went 11-0 in 17 starts with a 2.95 ERA. Gerrit Cole comes in after leading the MLB in strikeouts. Both pitchers look to continue their dominance Tuesday night in New York.

Game 2 will be on Thursday at 7:37PM in New York. It brings another dominant pitching matchup. Shane Bieber (13-8 2.88 ERA) of the Guardians is taking the mound against Nestor Cortes (12-4 2.44 ERA) of the Yankees. Shane Bieber got back to his Cy Young-self late in the year, especially in his last outing against the Rays. In Game 1 against the Rays, Bieber pitched 7.2 innings giving up 1 run on 3 hits. 

Game 3 will be Saturday at 7:37PM in Cleveland. The pitching matchup features Triston McKenzie (11-11 2.96 ERA) of the Guardians vs. Luis Severino (7-3 3.18 ERA) of the Yankees. McKenzie was dominant for the Guardians in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series vs Tampa Bay. His final line was 6.0 IP, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, and 8 Ks. Severino missed a good part of the summer with a lot injury for the Yankees. However, since returning from the injury he is 2-0 in 4 starts including a no-hit effort against the Texas Rangers. 

Games 4-5 If Necessary

If necessary, Game 4 would be at 7:07PM on Sunday in Cleveland with no pitching matchups announced. Game 5 would be played in New York on Monday with no pitching matchups announced. 

Keys to Victory for Cleveland

For the third time in six years, Cleveland and New York will be meeting in the postseason. Coming fresh off a Wild Card Series sweep of the Rays, the Guardians look to continue their winning ways. The Yankees bring a power-driven team, both pitching and hitting, to the field. The Guardians are quite the opposite when it comes to their offense. However, the Guardians were tops in the league in contact percentage and had the lowest strikeout rate in the league. Cleveland needs to continue their contact rate success in this series against the Yankees powerful starting rotation. A big advantage for the Guardians coming in is the bullpen. The Yankees are dealing with injuries in their bullpen which has been shaky as of late. The Guardians, however, have an outstanding bullpen who pitched near perfect baseball in the series against Tampa Bay. With the mix of successful starting pitching and a lockdown bullpen, the Guardians will look to take advantage of the power-hungry Yankee bats.