CLEVELAND — The Guardians were in the familiar position of trailing the New York Yankees on Friday night in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field.
Then the seventh and eighth innings happened and the Guardians drew even with the Yankees with quality at-bats and clutch hits.
The effort was admirable but short lived as the Yankees responded with two runs in the ninth off Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase to record a 8-6 win and take a three games to one lead in the best-of-seven series.
“I think you've seen it ... every game in this series that we're able to fight back and claw back and we're never really out of the game and I don't think that we're out of the series," Guardians relief pitcher Cade Smith said. "I think that we've still displayed resilience, and that's encouraging.”
Smith entered Friday having allowed one earned run in nine innings this postseason. That changed in the sixth when Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run home run to the bleachers in left-center field off Smith to extend the Yankees' lead to 6-2.
Stanton's blast came came on a 1-2 pitch that was a 94.2 mph four-seam fastball. The ball went 404 feet, had an exit velocity of 105.7 mph and also scored Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
"Just special," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Stanton. "Just locked in, prepared. His preparation and his ability to just lock in and focus is impressive. ... That's Cade Smith, too. It ain't easy to do that — two strikes and where he got the pitch to."
Soto hit a two-run home run in the first inning off Gavin Williams and Austin Wells smacked a solo homer off Williams in the second. The Yankees' power surge in the first six innings put the Guardians down, but not totally out.
"No lead is safe," Stanton said. "That's a great team over there."
The Guardians rallied with three runs in the seventh and one run in the eighth to draw even at 6-6.
Jose Ramirez singled in Brayan Rocchio, and Josh Naylor doubled in Steven Kwan and Ramirez in the seventh off Clay Holmes. Bo Naylor doubled in the eighth off Mark Leiter Jr. and scored on an infield single by Game 3 hero David Fry .
Ramirez finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs Friday, and Kwan went 2-for-4 with three runs.
"[We] try to win the inning," Josh Naylor said. "The more innings you win, [you are] probably going to win the ball game. But, yeah, just come back here ready to play tomorrow [Game 5] and continue to have fun and enjoy the pregame festivities, the cards [in the clubhouse], the talking crap to each other, the BP [batting practice] and all that jazz. And when [8:08 p.m.] hits ... it is ready to play ball."
Josh Naylor finished 2-for-5 with three RBs and two strikeouts.
"Naylz has been great for us all year," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said . "That double was huge. That's what I love about this team. They don't quit. It would have been real easy when Cade gives up the three-run homer for us to just fold and go away, but that is not what this group does. And even there in the ninth inning, we got two guys on. We got a chance to swing the bat and win the game. That's who this team is, and that's who we're going to be again tomorrow.
"... We're going to show up ready to win. That's who these guys are. Our backs are against the wall, we play our best baseball. We don't quit. This team has no quit in it. It hasn't all year long. It doesn't matter how we played the day before, days leading up to it. This team is going to show up with the same attitude, same mindset we do every day, and that's we're going to win."
Game 3 hero Jhonkensy Noel walked and Andres Gimenez singled in the ninth with one out, but were stranded as Tommy Kahnle got Bo Naylor to fly out and Rocchio to ground out to end the game.
"I'm so impressed with this group," Guardians catcher Austin Hedges said. "We get the tying run, the winning run to the plate multiple times. That's all you can ask."
Giancarlo Stanton ties Babe Ruth on Yankees postseason home run list
Stanton's home run was his fourth of the 2024 playoffs and 15th in his career in the postseason. The 15 playoff homers tie him with Babe Ruth and Aaron Judge for fourth most in Yankees history. They trail Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18). Ruth and Mantle hit all of their home runs in World Series games before the postseason expanded.
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Yankees prevail in ALCS Game 4, but pesky Guardians rally again to show 'no lead is safe'
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