Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 15th 2024
Preview and Prediction
NEW YORK The New York Yankees kicked off the American League Championship Series with a strong performance from Carlos Rodon, while two of their three power hitters blasted home runs.
The Yankees are aiming to replicate this winning strategy and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series on Tuesday, when they will send Gerrit Cole to the mound against the Cleveland Guardians.
New York is seeking their first 2-0 lead in an ALCS since their victory over the Los Angeles Angels in 2009, which ultimately led to their most recent World Series title. However, in the years since, the Yankees have lost their last five Game 2s of the ALCS, falling to the Houston Astros three times and once each to the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers.
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The Yankees began their first ALCS against Cleveland since 1998 with a 5-2 win on Monday. Rodon pitched six innings, allowing just one run and striking out nine without issuing a walk. This impressive performance came just a week after he took the loss in Game 2 of the AL Division Series against the Kansas City Royals.
Juan Soto, who hit his first postseason homer as a Yankee, reached base three times. Giancarlo Stanton also added a home run, bringing his postseason batting average to .368 (7-for-19) this year.
"I thought we had a lot of good at-bats," said Yankees manager Aaron Boone after his team's victory. "We had traffic."
New York first baseman Anthony Rizzo added, "This team trusts each other a lot. No one needs to be the guy. There's a lot of guys here who have done special things in this game. We just pass it on to the next guy."
In Cleveland's first ALCS game since 2016, Steven Kwan extended his postseason hitting streak to 11 games. He is hitting .480 (12-for-25) in this year's playoffs, but the Guardians struck out 14 times and could only score once in the eighth inning, when they pulled within 5-2.
"Tonight, even when it felt like we were out of it, we got the tying run to the plate multiple times," said Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt after the game. "This team doesn't quit, and that's what I love the most about them. I know we're going to come back out tomorrow ready to go and fight like we do."
Cole (1-0, 3.00 ERA) will make his third start of the postseason for the Yankees, after pitching twice in the ALDS against the Royals. In Game 1, Cole allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five-plus innings. However, he bounced back in Game 4, allowing just one run on six hits in seven innings.
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Cole has an impressive record of 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA in nine postseason starts with the Yankees. He has also dominated Cleveland in four career playoff starts, boasting a 4-0 record with a 1.98 ERA, 41 strikeouts, and only two walks in 27 1/3 innings.
"They put a lot of tough at-bats together," Cole said about the Guardians on Monday afternoon. "They don't walk a lot. They put a lot of balls in play. They don't strike out a lot. They have high contact quality."
Cleveland's Tanner Bibee (0-0, 2.08 ERA) will make his third career postseason start after taking two no-decisions in the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers. In Game 1, Bibee allowed four hits in 4 2/3 innings during a 7-0 win, and then allowed two runs on four hits in four-plus innings in Game 4, when the Guardians earned a 5-4 victory.
Bibee's only previous start against the Yankees occurred in New York on May 2, 2023, when he permitted two runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings during a no-decision. He faced off against Cole in that game and gave up a solo homer to Anthony Volpe to the short porch in right field.
Larry Fleisher,
Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees Recap OCT 15TH 2024
NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to pad the lead and finished with three RBIs as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 on Tuesday to take a two-games-to-none lead in the American League Championship Series.
New York, seeking its first trip to the World Series since 2009, has won the first two games of the ALCS for the first time since 2009 against the Los Angeles Angels. The series shifts to Cleveland for Game 3 on Thursday.
Judge hit his first postseason homer since Game 5 of the 2022 AL Division Series against Cleveland. On Tuesday, he sent a 1-1 fastball from Hunter Gaddis onto the netting in Monument Park beyond the center field fence to give the Yankees a 6-2 lead.
It was just his third hit of the postseason but his 14th career playoff homer.
In the first inning, Gleyber Torres scored New York's first run when Cleveland shortstop Brayan Rocchio dropped Judge's popup. Judge also lifted a sacrifice fly in the second to make it 3-0 after the Guardians opted to intentionally walk Juan Soto to load the bases.
Alex Verdugo added an RBI double in between Judge's first two plate appearances. New York's Anthony Rizzo hit an RBI double in the sixth.
Judge's blast occurred on a rocky night for New York ace Gerrit Cole, who allowed two runs on six hits in a laborious 4 1/3-inning outing. Cole struck out four and walked four in his shortest postseason outing since lasting two-plus innings in the 2021 wild-card game at Boston.
Cole stranded two in the third inning by retiring Jose Ramirez for the final out and left the bases loaded in the fourth by getting a called third strike with his curveball to Rocchio.
Cleveland pulled within 3-1 on Josh Naylor's sacrifice fly in the fifth, and Cole was replaced by Clay Holmes after walking Lane Thomas to load the bases with one out. Holmes gave up a run-scoring groundout to Will Brennan, walked the bases loaded again but then struck out Austin Hedges to end the inning.
Holmes (2-0) was among four New York relievers who combined to pitch 4 2/3 innings. Luke Weaver allowed a one-out homer to Ramirez in the ninth before closing out the win.
Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (0-1) allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits in 1 1/3 innings. He fanned two and walked one. The Guardians used seven relievers the rest of the way.
--Larry Fleisher,