Guardians make rare defensive mistakes in ALCS Game 2; Tanner Bibee taken out early

NEW YORK — The Guardians leaned into their identity and used that to take down the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS. In the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, though, they feel as though they've lost their way a bit, which has added to the frustration.

The Guardians dropped Game 2 of the ALCS 6-3 Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have a 2-0 series lead after jumping on the Guardians starting pitchers in both games .

The series now returns to Cleveland for Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 5.

Here are the top takeaways from ALCS Game 2.

Guardians looking to return to 'Guards Ball' in ALCS vs. New York Yankees

"Guards Ball" has been the key term when explaining the Guardians' success in 2024, whether you're talking about their hot start to the season in March or their come-from-behind, ALDS win over the Tigers in October.

In Game 2 against the Yankees, the Guardians couldn't follow that script.

Two major errors played key roles in Cleveland's loss — Brayan Rocchio in the first inning and Will Brennan in the sixth. Both plays directly resulted in Yankees runs and allowed New York to maintain a lead until Aaron Judge delivered the final nail in the coffin with a 414-foot blast over the centerfield wall. And Brennan made another defensive miscue in right field as well.

The Guardians played a style of baseball all season that partially relied on pushing opponents into mistakes, while they in turn played clean defense. That wasn't the case Tuesday night.

"We didn't play Cleveland baseball today," said Steven Kwan. "We obviously pride ourselves on our defense, so if we want to win some games we're going to have to play Guards Ball."

The Guardians have prided themselves on how well they have responded to adversity all season, and how well they've played with their backs against the wall. They'll now return to Cleveland down 2-0 to the top-seeded Yankees. It's quite a hole out of which to to climb.

To do it, they feel step one is to lean into the identity that got them this far, especially after a Game 2 loss that featured a slight comeback and several chances to tie the score or take the lead.

Manager Stephen Vogt was asked what he would change mentally or physically to prepare for Game 3.

"Absolutely nothing. We just need to keep being us," Vogt said. "This is who this baseball team is. We don't quit. We keep fighting. We did it again tonight. I'm excited to get home to Cleveland and play in front of our fans."

Guardians need more from Tanner Bibee, other starting pitchers in ALCS vs. New York Yankees

The Guardians were able to lean into their bullpen as much as possible to beat the Tigers in five games in the ALDS. That is still a recipe for success in this best-of-seven ALCS, but not to the same degree.

Cleveland needs a bit more from its starting pitchers in this format. The 2-3-2 schedule will feature three consecutive games (if Game 5 is necessary), which doesn't allow for the type of all-hands-on-deck approach, at least as aggressively.

Alex Cobb couldn't escape the third inning in Game 1. Tanner Bibee couldn't escape the second inning in Game 2.Even with baseball's best bullpen, the Guardians cannot survive without some length from their starting pitchers. Without it, the Yankees will roll, and the Guardians know it.

In Game 2, Bibee was taken out with the bases loaded in the second inning. Cade Smith was brought in to try to ensure the bleeding could be stopped. He was mostly successful, but it still left the rest of the night in jeopardy after only four outs from Bibee.

The Guardians didn't feel Bibee was on his game, and they couldn't afford the game to get away from them again.

"I wanted to stop the game, and Cade's done a great job of that all year, and he did it again tonight in a big situation," Vogt said. "Tanner's our guy, and he was a little bit off tonight, and we saw that from the first inning. In a game like today where we have the bullpen ready to go, I felt like we needed to stop it, and we did."

Bibee seemed frustrated after the game.

"It's tough. Obviously you don't want to go out like that, but nothing you can do about it now," Bibee said. "Not my job, not my call. My job's to get people out."

Tanner Bibee could return on short rest in ALCS

Bibee threw only 39 pitches in Game 2, which could give the Guardians some more options for Games 3, 4 and 5. Alex Cobb was originally slated to throw Games 1 and 5, but his back injury — which led to Ben Lively replacing him on the ALCS roster Tuesday — threw a wrench into those plans.

Bibee could possibly be ready for a Game 5 or any other situation considering the light workload.

"We have a lot of things to talk about on the off day, regrouping, getting back home," Vogt said. "It's definitely an option that we're going to talk through, see how Tanner is feeling. I know Tanner didn't throw the ball the way he wanted to tonight, but by getting him out of there early, maybe we got an opportunity to bring him back quicker."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians make rare defensive mistakes in ALCS Game 2; Tanner Bibee taken out early