SpongeBob Strikes Again to Down Yankees; Guardians Take 2-1 ALDS Lead

(Photo via sandiegouniontribune)

CLEVELAND, OH –

The ALDS shifted to Cleveland for Game 3. Guardians’ pitcher Triston McKenzie was looking to cement his early legacy in Cleveland with a dominant appearance. Meanwhile, the Yankees sent Luis Severino to the mound. Severino ended the regular season on a hot streak going 2-0 in his final 3 starts. One of the outings included a 7 innings no-hit performance. Game 3 was set to be a great game.

Guardians Start the Game on Fire

The Guardians brought their brand of baseball to play early in the game. In the first inning, they forced Luis Severino to throw 32 pitches. They strung together 3 hits, scored a run, and left 2 stranded. In the second inning, Severino once again struggled. The Guardians extended their lead to 2-0 after Steven Kwan’s RBI single. Through the first 2 innings, the Guardians had 2 runs on 6 hits and held a 2-0 lead.

Yankees Go to Their Bread and Butter

After being dominant through the first 2 innings, Triston McKenzie got jumped in the 3^rd. New York’s slugger, and probable AL MVP, hit a 2-out 2-run homer to tie the game up. The next few innings went by smoothly for the Guardians’ pitchers. In the 5^th inning, Yankee rookie Oswaldo Cabrera hit a 2-run homer of his own. This extended the Yankee lead to 4-2. In the bottom of the 6^th, the Guardians trimmed the lead to 4-3 after a Will Brennan RBI single. However, Harrison Bader came right back for the Yankees with a solo shot to left field. Bader came up big for the Yankees in Game 1 with a game-tying solo shot off Cal Quantrill.

Guardiac Kids Strike

Heading into the bottom of the 9^th innings, the Guardians trailed 5-3. With 1 out, Myles Straw and Steven Kwan got back-to-back bloop hits. Amed Rosario brought the game to 5-4 with an RBI single. After Jose Ramirez loaded the bases, Josh Naylor struck out. With 2 outs, and in a 2-strike count, Guardians rookie Oscar Gonzalez was at the plate. Gonzalez, AKA SpongeBob, ripped a single into center field that plated 2 runs. Cleveland won the game off his 2-run single. Oscar tied the All-Time record for most go-ahead/game-winning hits in the playoffs with 3. He joins Hall of Famer David Ortiz who had 3 of his own in 2004. Friendly reminder, he is only a rookie!

Pitching Lines

Cleveland Guardians: 

Triston McKenzie: 5IP, 4H, 4ER, 1BB, 5K

Sam Hentges: 1.2IP, 1H, 1ER, 1BB, 2K

Enyel De Los Santos: 1.1IP, 1K

Eli Morgan (win): 1IP, 1K

New York Yankees:

Luis Severino: 5.2IP, 8H, 3ER, 6K

Lou Trevino (hold): 0.1IP, 1H

Jonathan Loaisiga (hold): 0.2IP, 1H, 1K

Wandy Peralta (hold): 1.2IP, 2H, 2ER, 2K

Clarke Schmidt (loss): 0.1IP, 3H, 1ER, 1K

Game 4

Game 4 of the ALDS is set for Sunday night at 7:07PM on TBS in Cleveland. The pitching matchup will be a duplicate of Game 1. Cal Quantrill will go against Gerrit Cole of the Yankees. The Guardians look to win the series and advance to the ALCS. Meanwhile, the Yankees look to return the series to New York and extend it to a Game 5.