Joey Cantillo’s wild Guardians outing puts Yankees in control of ALCS Game 1

Forget the long ball.

The Yankees have discovered a new offensive weapon.

At least as long as Guardians left-hander Joey Cantillo is on the mound.

Cantillo became the second player in MLB postseason history to throw four wild pitches in one appearance Monday night, and his lack of control allowed the Yankees to take command of Game 1 of the ACLS on the way to a 5-2 victory.

Rick Ankiel infamously threw five wild pitches in the same inning in Game 1 of the 2000 ALDS, when he developed a case of the yips that never went away.

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Cantillo entered Game 1 with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning to try to keep the Guardians in a manageable 1-0 hole.

He spiked a ball that allowed Aaron Judge to score and then fired one to the backstop that allowed the slow-footed Giancarlo Stanton to score.

Both runs were charged to starter Alex Cobb’s record.

All the Yankees needed was good plate discipline.

Cantillo’s wildness continued into the fourth, when Gleyber Torres led off with a walk and then advanced 180 feet on two more wild pitches before the 24-year-old rookie mercifully was pulled.

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Torres eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Judge.

There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to Cantillo’s struggles, which happened on two fastballs, a curveball and a changeup.

Making the second postseason appearance of his young career after working one clean inning in the ALDS, Cantillo could not find the strike zone.

He threw just seven of 21 pitches for strikes, walking three of the four batters he faced in a third of an inning, also striking out Alex Verdugo.

It was out of character after he threw four wild pitches in 38 ²/₃ innings during the regular season.

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The question becomes whether manager Stephen Vogt will go back to Cantillo during the series.

He has two other left-handers, Tim Herrin and Erik Sabrowski, in the bullpen to call on to face the five left-handed batters in the regular Yankees starting lineup.

Ankiel tried to make light of his wildness, saying that “at least I set a record.”

It turned out to be no laughing matter when he threw five pitches past the catcher (only two wild pitches) in one inning in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Mets.

He added two more wild pitches in his final appearance of that postseason, and ultimately gave up pitching to become a hitter.

Bert Cunningham of the Players’ League — which is counted into MLB records — threw five wild pitches in an inning in 1890.

The Guardians staff added a fifth wild pitch by Andrew Walters later in the game.

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