NEW YORK – Carlos Rodon kept both his emotions and the Cleveland Guardians in check, getting the Yankees off to a fine start in the AL Championship Series.
On a cool, mid-October night at Yankee Stadium, it was Luke Weaver who delivered a five-out save to seal the Yankees' 5-2 win in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series to decide the AL pennant.
Rodon went six strong innings, yielding a run (Brayan Rocchio's solo homer) on three hits, with zero walks and nine strikeouts, while the Yankees chased starter Alex Cobb early.
Juan Soto's solo homer started a three-run third inning, but the Yanks couldn't take full advantage of the wildness of Cleveland's bullpen.
Aaron Judge's fourth-inning sac fly (his first RBI of this postseason) and Giancarlo Stanton's monstrous, seventh inning solo homer became bigger insurance runs as Cleveland sent the tying run to the plate in the eighth and threatened again in the ninth.
With 47,264 fans standing and chanting "Luuuuuke,'' Weaver struck out Austin Hedges with a runner at first to end it.
Just activated for the ALCS after suffering fractured fingers on his right (glove) hand Sept. 28, first baseman Anthony Rizzo (1-for-3, walk) was removed defensively in the ninth for Oswaldo Cabrera.
Luke Weaver puts out the fire
The crowd here at Yankee Stadium roared as Luke Weaver entered the game, and he quickly quieted the trouble in the eighth.
Entering with runners at the corners, Weaver retired pinch-hitter Will Brennan and the dangerous Jose Ramirez, representing the tying run, preserving a 5-2 Yankees lead.
And we have...an interesting development
Yankees reliever Tim Hill obstructed with baserunner Brayan Rocchio, setting the Guardians up with runners at second and third, and Steven Kwan has come through with an RBI single in the eighth.
It's 5-2 Yanks, runners at the corners, and here comes Luke Weaver for a five-out save.
Outside of first base, Hill stood in Rocchio's way after he grounded a bit of a gift single under the glove of Anthony Rizzo, playing with sore fingers on his right hand (from fractures suffered Sept. 28).
Mr. October II
Giancarlo Stanton has mashed a solo homer off the back of the Cleveland bullpen wall, just short of the way-out left field bleachers. It's 5-1, Yanks in the seventh.
That's Stanton's second homer of these playoffs and his 13th career postseason home run. And this one, off lefty Erik Sabrowski, traveled an estimated 439 feet, measured at 114.3-mph off the bat.
Carlos Rodon exits, Clay Holmes in
Carlos Rodon has exited after six innings, with a 4-1 lead after a fine bounce back performance following his fourth-inning hook in ALDS Game 2 vs. the Royals.
We've reached the late-inning bullpen portion of the game, and Clay Holmes has pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to maintain a 4-1 lead. Rodon's line: 6 IP, 3 hits, one run (HR), zero walks, 9 strikeouts.
Time for the Yankees' end game?
That might be it for Carlos Rodon after he ended the Cleveland sixth by getting Jose Ramirez on a long fly to left-center, where Aaron Judge made a nice running catch near the wall.
It's 4-1 Yankees, Rodon is at 93 pitches, and Clay Holmes is warmed up in the 'pen.
Clay Holmes gets warm
There's suddenly action in the Yankees' bullpen as Carlos Rodon's streak of retiring 11 straight Guardians ends with No. 9 hitter Brayan Rocchio's leadoff homer in the sixth. Yanks ahead, 4-1.
Carlos Rodon keeps rolling along
That's 11 in a row now retired by Rodon, and he's ended each inning with a strikeout - this time getting Andres Gimenez chasing a slider to end the Cleveland fifth.
Rodon used just 11 pitches in the inning, and the Yanks' 4-0 lead feels double that right now.
Aaron Judge's first RBI of the 2024 playoffs
And it comes on a sacrifice fly to center off Pedro Avila, who entered for Joey Cantillo after the lefty began the fourth by yielding two more walks and two more wild pitches. It's 4-0, Yanks.
Strikeout spree for Carlos Rodon
Rodon is now through four scoreless innings, ending each one of them with a swinging strikeout - this time vs. Josh Naylor, still an October enemy here for his 'rock-the-baby' home run gesture vs. Gerrit Cole in the 2022 ALDS.
That's seven strikeouts for Rodon, having faced just 14 batters. It's 3-0, Yanks.
Getting wild in the Bronx
Lefty reliever Joey Castillo has allowed a second inherited runner to score on another two-out wild pitch, this time with Giancarlo Stanton crossing to make it 3-0 before Alex Verdugo struck out to end the third.
That's it for Alex Cobb
The Cleveland starter didn't make it out of the third inning, exiting with the bases loaded and two out as lefty Joey Cantillo comes in to face Anthony Rizzo....
and Cantillo uncorks a wild pitch, scoring Aaron Judge from third for a 2-0 Yanks lead before re-loading the bases by walking Rizzo on four pitches.
Juan Soto goes deep
The free agent payday for Juan Soto keeps increasing.
Soto opened the Yankees' third inning with a home run to right-center, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead off Alex Cobb, who followed with a walk to Aaron Judge and received a visit from an athletic trainer.
Cobb was dealing with a cracked nail and a blister last month. Not clear what this visit was about, but Cleveland has Joey Cantillo warming up in the bullpen.
Anthony Rizzo arrives with a hit
Showing no ill-effects from his two fractured fingers on Sept. 28, Anthony Rizzo's first 2024 postseason at-bat produced a line drive single in the second inning, but the Yanks would strand runners at the corners with two out.
For the second time tonight, Gleyber Torres (1-for-2) went after the first pitch, this time tapping into a force play.
Another early missed opportunity
After Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto opened with singles off Alex Cobb, the Yanks failed to score.
It's the fourth time in five playoff games this October that the Yanks have put the first two runners on base, and they've scored a grand total of one run - in Thursday's ALDS clincher at KC.
In those spots, Aaron Judge is 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a double play. Cobb struck him out looking and the Yankees' bench was angered by Mike Estabrook's low two-strike call against the Yankees captain.
A good start for Rodon
Carlos Rodon said he'd try to follow Gerrit Cole's lead from Thursday's Division Series clincher at Kansas City by guarding his emotions, and so far, so good.
To end a scoreless top of the first, Rodon stranded a runner at second, striking out Lane Thomas and not showing any outward reactions - letting the crowd's roar handle that.
But Rodon did have a discussion with plate ump Mike Estabrook after he walked off the mound.
Anthony Rizzo is back at first base
A little more than two weeks after suffering fractured fingers, first baseman Anthony Rizzo is back in the Yankees’ lineup for the AL Championship Series.
According to Rizzo, it’s about managing pain tolerance, and that won’t be an issue for the lefty-hitting veteran in tonight’s Game 1 against the Cleveland Guardians.
“The 50,000 (fans) in the stands, the adrenaline and what’s at stake is going to outweigh anything,’’ said Rizzo, who’ll bat in the No. 8 spot against Cleveland right-hander Alex Cobb.
Rizzo suffered fractures to his fourth and fifth fingers on Sept. 28, the next-to-last game of the regular season, when he was hit by a pitch. He did not make the Division Series roster.
Yankees announce lineup for ALCS Game 1
What channel is Yankees vs Guardians Game 1 on today? Time, TV schedule
TV: TBS, truTV and Max
Watch Yankees vs. Guardians live on Sling
Cleveland Guardians' ALCS Game 1 lineup
- Steven Kwan, LF
- David Fry, DH
- Jose Ramirez, 3B
- Lane Thomas, CF
- Josh Naylor, 1B
- Jhonkensy Noel, RF
- Bo Naylor, C
- Andres Gimenez, 2B
- Brayan Rocchio, SS
SP: Alex Cobb, RHP
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Instant analysis: Yankees' power and pitching take over in ALCS Game 1 victory
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