'We're hurting': Guardians, Stephen Vogt responds to ALCS Game 5 loss to New York Yankees

CLEVELAND — The Yankees dugout erupted. A few minutes later, the Guardians clubhouse was dejected.

Juan Soto drilled a three-run home run in the 10th inning of Game 5 , and the Guardians postseason hopes came to an end. The Yankees won 5-2, clinched the American League Championship Series 4-1 and punched their ticket to the World Series.

The Guardians had a magical, surprising, stunning season and run through the playoffs. But it was over .

In the visiting clubhouse, champagne flowed. In the home clubhouse, quiet tears and pats on the back.

The Guardians were expected to have a losing record in 2024. And then Stephen Vogt led them to a 92-win season, an American League Central title and finally into the ALCS, where they were three wins short of the World Series.

Here are the top takeaways from the Guardians' Game 5 loss and their 2024 season.

Guardians, Stephen Vogt emotional after ALCS Game 5 loss to New York Yankees

From Opening Day to when the lights at Progressive Field were turned off early Sunday morning, the Guardians were a group that believed in one another. They quickly garnered an identity of a team that was capable of fighting back from any deficit.

Although many teams say they're a tight-knit group, it became obvious with the 2024 Guardians it was a genuine notion.

"This group cares about each other more than any group I've really been a part of," said veteran catcher Austin Hedges, who was routinely credited with being at the center of the clubhouse chemistry. "They're obsessed with bringing in the right people, and I think they value people. … It's one of the reasons I'm proud to be a Cleveland guy. I love this city, I love this organization. I'm really, really proud to be part of this group."

Vogt did a masterful job with a youthful roster and will surely be one of the three finalists for American League Manager of the Year. One of the main attributes the Guardians noted as a reason they liked him to replace Terry Francona was his ability to relate to anyone who walked into the room. It couldn't have been more evident.

Vogt broke down in tears a few weeks ago discussing how teammates had come together, and how they were fighting for each other.

Speaking after the Guardians' Game 5 loss, Vogt was visibly emotional.

"Obviously, we're hurting," Vogt said. "We believe, and we still believe we can be better, we can be more.

"I couldn't be more proud of what this group accomplished. There's only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it's not going to be us. But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I can't thank the guys enough for their hard work and the coaching staff and the support staff for all of the work they put in. I couldn't be more proud of this group. We just didn't get as far as we wanted to."

Vogt also expressed gratitude to Cleveland fans, saying, "[They] embraced a first-time manager taking over for a legend, and I couldn't be more thankful."

Left fielder Steven Kwan wasn't yet able to put into words all of the emotions being felt so soon after the loss.

"Right now it's still so fresh," Kwan said. "It hurts pretty bad right now."

Brayan Rocchio error leads to Juan Soto home run in ALCS Game 5

The Guardians had praised shortstop Brayan Rocchio's defense for weeks. And in the postseason he was one of the lineup's productive hitters, batting .333 with a .906 OPS.

But his massive miscue in the 10th inning of Game 5 extended the inning just long enough to allow Soto to come to the plate with two outs. And that was it. One of the best hitters in the league put one of the best swings of the series on a Hunter Gaddis pitch, and the Yankees were on their way to the World Series.

Rocchio said he was trying to turn the double play in an effort to help the bullpen. Vogt spent no time discussing the play postgame. It was simply a play that wasn't made during a series that had several razor-thin-margin games.

"It just looked like it tipped off the top of his glove," Vogt said.

Tanner Bibee was great, but home run to Giancarlo Stanton a key moment in ALCS Game 5

In a moment when the Guardians had no one else to turn to given their dire pitching situation, Tanner Bibee stepped up on short rest. He wanted the ball. He wanted the moment.

For 5⅔ innings, he was absolutely terrific, shutting down the Yankees lineup while holding onto a slim lead. He was exactly what the Guardians needed until his final pitch of the night, a slider to Giancarlo Stanton that was simply left down the middle of the plate. Stanton absolutely crushed it with an exit velocity of 117.5 mph.

It was a bitter end for Bibee's night and season, during which he took over as the rotation's No. 1 starter after Shane Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery, Triston McKenzie lost his command and was sent to Triple-A and Logan Allen struggled to the point of being demoted as well.

Bibee took over that key role. Without him, the Guardians' playoff run would have ended much sooner.

"Tanner stepped up and was the guy today. He was the No. 1 today," Vogt said. "Short rest, gave us 5⅔ of excellent, excellent pitching. One mistake, and it got hit. I am so proud of Tanner stepping up."

Vogt was adamant there wasn't one second when he debated walking Giancarlo Stanton or going to Cade Smith in the bullpen. For one, Stanton had homered off Smith the night before. And Bibee had looked like the best version of himself, striking out Stanton twice in Game 5.

"No, Tanner was dialed," Vogt said. "Tanner had struck him out twice. He had him on the ropes. … You give me [that spot] 100 more times, I'm not [taking him out]."

After the loss, Bibee had tears in his eyes, which were already red, while he spoke with reporters.

"I mean, there's a lot of stuff going on right now. I don't really know how to process it," Bibee said. "That's why I'm so emotional."

Emmanuel Clase returns to form in Game 5, but Stephen Vogt couldn't consider him for 10th inning

Emmanuel Clase entered Game 5 in the ninth inning. It was the third consecutive day he pitched, with the previous two being disasters.

To make the stakes even higher, his first two batters were Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Clase responded.

He retired Judge on a flyout. He struck out Stanton. He allowed a single to Jazz Chisholm Jr. but then finished the inning.

But Vogt couldn't let him go back out for the 10th inning. Clase only threw 12 pitches in Game 5, but he had thrown 20 pitches the night before and 15 the night before that. And that was after the Guardians leaned on Clase heavily in the regular season and then in the American League Division Series against the Tigers.

Protecting players is also a trait for which Francona was known as Cleveland's manager.

"You want him back out there, but he had thrown 60 pitches over the last three days, and had we won tonight we had two more games to go," Vogt said. "You can't overextend these guys. You can't have them throw 75, 80 pitches in three days. That is not right.

"Hunter has been phenomenal all year. I will give any of those guys in the bullpen the ball anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Some of the best hitters in the world got us in this series, and that's what's true."

Gaddis nearly escaped the 10th inning, too, but the Guardians fell one play short of sending the series back to New York. And, with that, one of the most surprising teams in baseball wrote its last chapter of 2024. The Guardians just wish it had a different ending.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'We're hurting': Guardians, Stephen Vogt responds to ALCS Game 5 loss to New York Yankees