Cleveland fans won’t soon forget the Guardians’ epic walk-off Game 3 victory over the Yankees on Thursday night, capped off by monster home runs from Jankenzie Noel and David Frye. But they don’t have much time to jump on the winning streak, with Game 4 on Friday and the Guardians still staring at a 2-1 series deficit.
Both starters are making their first postseason appearances: Lewis Gill 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 guards still have some magic after Thursday’s heroics? They have been solid at home this season and have the momentum of their Game 3 win. We will find out soon.
Yankees vs. Guardians ALCS Game 4 (NYY leads 2-1)
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Eli Morgan retires the Yankees in a row
Eli Morgan takes over for fifth-place Cleveland and goes through the Yankees in the order.
Austin Wells struck out, Alex Verdugo took second (hit too low and inside the pitch). And Gleyber Torres flies out to center.
Tim Hill is now pitching for the Yankees as the Guardians arrive in the bottom of the inning
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Lewis Gill gets a 1-2-3 4th inning
Left-handers Tim Misa and Tim Hill are warming up in the Yankees’ bullpen.
This will mark Lewis Gill’s last innings dismissal. But he rests Andres Gimenez, Austin Hedges and Brian Rocchio to finish fourth.
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Eric Zabrowski led off the top of the 4th with a scoreless inning
Eric Zabrowski struck out Josh Chisholm Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton to start the fourth inning. Anthony Rizzo bloops a single to left, but Anthony Volpe flies out to center field.
That could be Zabrowski’s last inning. Eli Wilson is warming up in the Guardians bullpen.
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Lewis Gill dismisses Daniel Schneemann
Lewis Gill struck out Daniel Schneemann for the last out after a nine-pitch at-bat to end the third inning. The Defenders leave two runners on base and lead 3-2 heading into the fourth.
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Lewis Gill didn’t get a strikeout call on Lane Thomas
Lane Thomas walks two-out on a closely-checked swing call. (On replay, it appeared Thomas came around, but the call on the field said otherwise.)
Lewis comes out to meet Gil before Matt Blake confronts Daniel Schneemann.
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Josh Naylor with an RBI single
Steven Kwan reached base for the second time in two plate appearances with a single from third base. He went to second base on a steal.
Luis Gill got Kyle Manzarto to fly out to right field and Jose Ramirez popped up to second base. But Josh Naylor singled to left field to cut the Yankees’ lead to 3-2, driving in Kwan.
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Eric Zabrowski eliminated Soto and Judge
Eric Zabrowski makes Stephen Vogt look good, throws out Juan Soto to first base and throws out Aaron Judge to third.
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Pitching change for defenders
Gavin Williams left after 2 1/3 innings. He pushed Kleyber Torres to third base and then manager Steven Vogt gave his starter the hook.
Eric Zabrowski singled with one out in the third for Cleveland.
Williams gave up three runs in three hits, two of them on home runs. He struck out four Yankees batters.
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Lewis Gill threw a no-hitter in the 2nd
Brian Rocchio hit a fly ball over the left-field wall, but Alex Verdugo caught it in the third inning.
Lewis Gill followed with Austin Hedges, but retired the next three batters he faced. Daniel Schneemann grounded out to second base, followed by Andres Gimenez’s fly out to center.
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Austin Wells goes deep
Austin Wells’ solo home run gives the Yankees a 3-1 lead.
Gavin Williams looked like he was settling in after throwing 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 was Wells’ first homer on Sept. Returns to 9.
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Louis Gill puts the Guardians on a run
Lewis Gill got Josh Naylor to pop out to the catcher in foul territory, striking out Lane Thomas and getting to first.
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Jose Ramirez puts the Guardians on the board
With runners on first and third and no outs, Jose Ramirez gets the Guardians’ first run on a sacrifice fly.
Yankees 2, Guardians 1.
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The first two Cleveland batters reach base
Defenders get their first two batters on base. Steven Kwan draws a walk, then moves to third on Kyle Manzarto’s double.
Here comes Jose Ramirez with no outs.
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Gavin Williams singled after a Juan Soto homer
After giving up a two-run homer to Juan Soto, Gavin Williams retired the next three batters. Aaron Judge grounded out to shortstop, Josh Chisholm Jr. struck out, and Giancarlo Stanton flied out to right field.
The first to come down are the defenders.
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Juan Soto gives the Yankees a 2-0 lead
The Yankees are coming off Game 4. Kleyber Torres leads off with a single, then Juan Soto crushes a high fastball for a two-run shot.
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Aaron Boone moves to clean up Josh Chisholm Jr
Josh Chisholm Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton flip-flopping at 4 and 5 respectively is a curious move. Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters that he did so to balance left-handed and right-handed batters in the middle and bottom of the Yankees batting order.
Why is Josh Chisholm Jr. cleaning up instead of Giancarlo Stanton?
Aaron Boone: “I wanted to move Austin [Wells] Bottom line, and you know, I sometimes notice the balance of it. I don’t want to leave it with four out of five leftists [at the bottom of the lineup].”
— Brian Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) October 18, 2024
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Will the Yankees use closer Luke Weaver tonight?
Yankees closer Luke Weaver picked up 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 in the series, including a five-out save in Game 1. After Thursday’s performance, the question was whether Weaver was tiring from the heavy offseason workload.
Luke Weaver and Clay Holmes have homered in three of the four days. Boone said four of the five could use “some” relievers, but wouldn’t say which ones.
— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) October 18, 2024
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Guardians Series, Game 4
Same lineup as Game 3 for Cleveland. Why not, some might wonder why David Fry didn’t start.
Guardians ALCS Game 4 series
1. LF Steven Kwan
2. DH Kyle Manzarto
3. 3B Jose Ramirez
4. 1B Josh Naylor
5. CF Lane Thomas
6. RF Daniel Schneemann
7. 2B Andrés Giménez
8. C Austin Hedges
9. SS Brian RocchioSB Gavin Williams
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) October 18, 2024
Gavin Williams made 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.
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Yankees lineup, Game 4: Josh Chisholm Jr. in cleanup, Lewis Gill makes first postseason start.
Josh Chisholm Jr. was moved to the cleanup spot despite going 2-for-12 in the first three games of the ALCS and batting .148 in the postseason. Giancarlo Stanton was relegated to the fifth spot in the batting order.
Yankees lineup for Game 4:
1. Gleyber Torres, 2B
2. Juan Soto, RF
3. Aaron Judge, CF
4. Jas Chisholm Jr., 3 b
5. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
6. Anthony Rizzo, 1 b
7. Anthony Wolfe, SS
8. Austin Wells, c
9. Alex Verdugo, LF— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) October 18, 2024
Lewis Gill starts on the mound for the first time this postseason. The rookie went 15-4 during the regular season with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 151 2/3 innings.
