Cleveland fans won’t soon forget the Guardians’ epic walk-off Game 3 win over the Yankees on Thursday night, which was punctuated by monster home runs from Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry. But they don’t have much time to bask in the win, with Game 4 on Friday and the Guardians still staring down a 2-1 series deficit.
Both starting pitchers were making their first postseason appearances in this one: Luis Gil for the Yankees (3.50 ERA in 151 2/3 innings this season) and Gavin Williams for the Guardians (4.86 ERA in 76 innings).
Do the Guardians have some more magic in them after Thursday’s heroics? They’ve been solid at home this season and have the momentum coming off their Game 3 victory. We’ll find out soon enough.
How to watch Yankees vs. Guardians ALCS Game 4 (NYY leads 2-1)
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Live21 updates
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Giancarlo Stanton launches a 3-run homer
Cade Smith took over for Eli Wilson in the top of the sixth and had a disastrous inning. After walking Juan Soto on five pitches, he gives up a single to Aaron Judge. Jazz Chisholm Jr. moves the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.
Then Giancarlo Stanton gives the Yankees a 6-2 lead, crushing a fastball out over the plate into the left field seats. And he knew it.
Smith is out for Tim Herrin.
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No runs for Guardians in bottom of 5th
Tim HIll gives up a two-out single to Jose Ramirez, but strikes out Josh Naylor to finish off the bottom of the fifth inning.
Game 3 walkoff hero David Fry pinch-hit for Kyle Manzardo. Presumably, he’ll stay in the lineup at DH.
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Eli Morgan retires the Yankees in order
Eli Morgan takes over for Cleveland in the top of the fifth and goes through the Yankees in order.
Austin Wells struck out, Alex Verdugo grounded out to second (swinging at a pitch very low and inside), and Gleyber Torres flies out to center.
Tim Hill now in to pitch for the Yankees as the Guardians come up in the bottom of the inning.
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Luis Gil gets a 1-2-3 4th inning
Left-handers Tim Mayza and Tim Hill are warming up in the Yankees’ bullpen.
That would seem to indicate that Luis Gil has thrown his last inning of the game. But he retires Andres Gimenez, Austin Hedges and Brayan Rocchio in order to finish the bottom of the fourth.
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Erik Sabrowski pitches a scoreless top of the 4th
Erik Sabrowski struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton to begin the fourth inning. Anthony Rizzo blooped a single into left, but Anthony Volpe flies out to center field.
That might be Sabrowski’s last inning. Eli Wilson is warming up in the Guardians’ bullpen.
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Luis Gil srikes out Daniel Schneemann
Luis Gil finally strikes out Daniel Schneemann after a nine-pitch at-bat to end the third inning. Guardians leave two runners on base and trail 3–2 going to the top of the fourth.
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Luis Gil does not get a strikeout call on Lane Thomas
Lane Thomas draws a two-out walk on a close checked swing call. (On replay, it looked like Thomas went around, but the call on the field said otherwise.)
Matt Blake comes out to meet with Luis Gil before facing Daniel Schneemann.
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Josh Naylor with an RBI single
Steven Kwan reaches base for the second time in two plate appearances, hitting a single to lead off the bottom of the third. He moved to second base on a steal.
Luis Gil got Kyle Manzardo to fly out to right field and Jose Ramirez to pop up to second base. But Josh Naylor slaps a single into left field to drive Kwan in and cut the Yankees’ lead to 3–2.
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Erik Sabrowski gets Soto and Judge out
Erik Sabrowski makes Stephen Vogt look good, getting Juan Soto to ground out to first base and striking out Aaron Judge to finish the top of the third.
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Pitching change for the Guardians
Gavin Williams is out after 2 1/3 innings. He got Gleyber Torres to ground out to third base, then manager Steven Vogt gave his starter the hook.
Erik Sabrowski takes over for Cleveland with one out in the third.
Williams gave up three runs on three hits, two of them home runs. He struck out four Yankees batters.
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Luis Gil throws a scoreless bottom of the 2nd
Brayan Rocchio hit a fly ball to the left-field wall, but Alex Verdugo caught it for the third out of the third inning.
Luis Gil walked Austin Hedges but retired the next three batters he faced. Daniel Schneemann grounded out to second base, followed by Andres Gimenez flying out to center.
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Austin Wells goes deep
The Yankees take a 3–1 lead on Austin Wells’ solo home run.
Gavin Williams looked like he was settling in after striking out Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe. But then he grooved a fastball down the middle of the strike zone, and Wells didn’t miss it.
That is Wells’ first homer going back to Sept. 9.
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Luis Gil holds Guardians to one run
Luis Gil finishes the bottom of the first by getting Josh Naylor to pop out to the catcher in foul territory, then striking out Lane Thomas looking.
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Jose Ramirez puts Guardians on the board
With runners on first and third and no outs, Jose Ramirez gets the Guardians their first run with a sacrifice fly.
Yankees 2, Guardians 1.
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First two Cleveland batters reach base
Guardians get their first two batters on base, too. Steven Kwan draws a walk, then goes to third on a double from Kyle Manzardo.
Here comes Jose Ramirez with no outs.
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Gavin Williams settles down after Juan Soto homer
After serving up a two-run homer to Juan Soto, Gavin Williams retired the next three batters. Aaron Judge grounded out to shortstop, Jazz Chisholm Jr. struck out, and Giancarlo Stanton flew out to right field.
Guardians coming up in the bottom of the first.
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Juan Soto gives Yankees 2–0 lead
The Yankees start Game 4 with a bang. Gleyber Torres leads off with a single, then Juan Soto crushes a high fastball for a two-run shot.
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Aaron Boone on moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. to cleanup
Flip-flopping Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton in the Nos. 4 and 5 spots in the lineup is a curious move. Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters he did so to balance left- and right-handed batters through the middle and bottom of the Yankees batting order.
Why Jazz Chisholm Jr. at cleanup instead of Giancarlo Stanton?
Aaron Boone: “I wanted to move Austin [Wells] down, and as you guys know, I obsess sometimes with the balance of it. I just didn’t want to leave it with four out of five lefties [at the bottom of the lineup].”
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) October 18, 2024
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Will Yankees use closer Luke Weaver tonight?
Yankees closer Luke Weaver blew the save in Thursday’s Game 3, allowing two runs on two hits (including a home run) in 1 1/3 innings.
It was Weaver’s third appearance of the series, which included a five-out save in Game 1. After Thursday’s performance, whether Weaver is tiring from a heavy postseason workload was a question.
Luke Weaver and Clay Holmes have pitched in three out of four days. Boone said he might use “some” relievers four out of five, but would not say which ones.
— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) October 18, 2024
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Guardians lineup, Game 4
Same lineup as Game 3 for Cleveland. And why not, though some might wonder why David Fry isn’t starting.
Guardians ALCS Game 4 lineup
1. LF Steven Kwan
2. DH Kyle Manzardo
3. 3B José Ramírez
4. 1B Josh Naylor
5. CF Lane Thomas
6. RF Daniel Schneemann
7. 2B Andrés Giménez
8. C Austin Hedges
9. SS Brayan RocchioSP Gavin Williams
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) October 18, 2024
Gavin Williams makes his postseason debut for the Guardians. During the regular season, he went 3–10 with a 4.86 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 76 innings.
