New York Uses the Homerun Ball to Take a 1-0 ALDS Lead

(Photo courtesy of Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY –

The ALDS was kicked off on Tuesday night at Yankee stadium in front of a sold-out crowd. The Cleveland Guardians were looking to continue their winning ways. They were coming off a Wild Card Series sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays. The New York Yankees on the other hand were looking to put a rough 2^nd half of the season behind them. Cal Quantrill took the bump for the Guardians and came in without a loss since July 5^th. The Yankees fielded their ace Gerrit Cole on the mound in hopes to keep the Guardians’ bats quiet.

New York Uses Its Best Friend

Throughout the regular season, the Yankees were constantly near the top of the league in power numbers. By the end of the season the finished first in home runs and second in RBIs. In the bottom half of the third inning, Harrison Bader tied the game with a solo home run to left field. For Bader, that was his first home run in a Yankee uniform, and at no better time. In the bottom of the 6^th with a 2-1 lead, Anthony Rizzo deposited a two-run shot to right field. This gave the Yankees insurance runs and a 4-1 lead. This would be the final score of Game 1.

Guardians Bats Continue to Struggle

During the Wild Card Series, the Guardians struggled to string together much offense. In the 24 innings of play they mustered just 3 runs on 13 hits. Much of the same was shown Tuesday night. Gerrit Cole toed the rubber and pitched a great game for the Yankees. He gave up just 1 run on 4 hits over 6.1 innings. The one run was given up on a solo home run from Steven Kwan in the top of the third inning. The Guardians need to start stringing together more hits if they want to continue their Cinderella season.

Pitching Lines

Cleveland Guardians:

Cal Quantrill (Loss): 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K

Trevor Stephan: 1.0 IP, 1 K

Enyel De Los Santos: 1.0 IP, 1 H

James Karinchak: 1.0 IP, 1 K

New York Yankees

Gerrit Cole (Win): 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

Jonathan Loaisiga (Hold): 0.2 IP, 2 H

Wandy Peralta (Hold): 1.1 IP, 1 K

Clay Holmes: 0.2 IP, 1 HBP

Game 2

Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday at 7:37PM in New York on TBS. However, if the game is canceled due to weather, it will be played Friday at 2:07PM. For the Guardians, Shane Bieber will take the mound against the Yankees’ Nestor Cortes.