NEW YORK — It’s a name you almost tremble to type. But there it is, the answer to the night’s question from Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium: Had any other pitcher – before Joey Cantillo of the Cleveland Guardians – ever served four wild pitches in a game after the season?

Yes, only one: Rick Ankiel.

That was 20 years ago, in another playoff series opener, and Ankiel, a talented young lefty for the St. Louis Cardinals, actually unleashed five wild pitches. His career as an effective pitcher ended abruptly with that sudden, sad spectacle.

So what do we make of Cantillo, a 24-year-old southpaw who unraveled in the Guardians’ 5-2 loss to the Yankees on Monday? Cantillo, the first reliever called up in this series from the Majors’ best bullpen, faced four batters, walking three and allowing four wild pitches.

When Cantillo replaced Alex Cobb in the third inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Cleveland trailed 1-0. One out in the fourth, the score was 4-0. Cantillo’s performance was the first in MLB history in which a pitcher issued three walks and four wild pitches while facing no more than four batters.

“That performance was clearly the difference in the game,” Cantillo said. “So that’s up to me.”

In his corner of the clubhouse in Cleveland, Cobb was having none of it. He had his own control issues in Game 1, walking a bases-loaded walk after Juan Soto’s leadoff home run in that fateful third inning. It was Cobb’s mess that Cantillo had to clean up.

“I spoke to him for a while afterwards; I feel responsible for him having to be in that position in the first place,” said Cobb, who dealt with back spasms and tightness in his surgically repaired hip.

“He has a very good future ahead of him. Going into a playoff game with the bases loaded at Yankee Stadium is probably not ideal for anyone, so I sympathize with him. But he’ll be fine.”

Cantillo pitches in the third inning of Game 1 of the ALCS against the Yankees. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)

The Yankees, who led the Majors in walks this season, have never started a postseason like this. They drew 27 walks in the division series against Kansas City, a club record for the first four games of a postseason. In Game 1 against the Guardians, they walked seven more times, six in the nine-batter series that essentially decided the game.

Against Cantillo they had little choice but to take. He threw 21 pitches, only seven of which went for strikes. His first three pitches, against Anthony Rizzo, were all in the mud. The first two wild pitches, both of which produced runs, came on fastballs. The next was on a curveball, the last on a changeup.

It was also a confusing evening for catcher Bo Naylor.

“You always look back and think about the things you could have done better,” Naylor said. “A few of them were heaters. At this level, with heaters at that speed, you’re just trying to put on a glove and see if you can get it. I think there was a change that escaped me, it just stuck, went through my legs. But you take as much as you can. You try to move forward and make the adjustments.”

The Guardians can take solace in the circumstances: They’ll use their best starter, Tanner Bibee, in Game 2, with their top relievers – Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and Cade Smith – all rested after heavy workloads in the final round.

But Cantillo has to find a way to shake it off, possibly in the short term and certainly beyond. To his credit, he answered every question on Monday and made no excuses, even when one was offered to him.

Were nerves a factor at all, given the stakes and setting?

“No, not necessarily,” Cantillo said. “I think when I got to that spot, obviously my job was to execute my delivery to every hitter. And I fell behind and didn’t make my pitches, and one thing led to another.

“Like I said, my performance today was the difference in that match. So I live with that, and I’m excited to see how we all go after it tomorrow and for the rest of the series.

The Guardians acquired Cantillo from San Diego in 2020, along with first baseman Josh Naylor and three others, in a deal for starter Mike Clevinger. Cantillo, a 16th-round draft pick out of a high school in Hawaii in 2017, averaged nearly 12 strikeouts per nine innings before reaching the majors in July.

In nine games (eight starts), he went 2-4 with a 4.89 ERA, then worked a scoreless inning in the division series. The four wild pitches in Game 1 matched Cantillo’s total in 38 2/3 regular season innings.

“He’ll be an anchor for years to come,” said Matthew Boyd, a veteran Cleveland starter. “He’s a stud, a four-pitch starter. It just happens; we are human. But he’ll be just fine. He’s been so good to us this year. Without him we wouldn’t be here.”

Cobb, like Boyd, predicted a long career for Cantillo, praising his responsibility, maturity and work ethic. Naylor, the catcher, said he would be fine.

“Joey’s just not someone I’m really worried about in terms of confidence or getting his mind back in the right place,” Naylor said. “He wants those moments, whether he’s on the good side or the bad side, and he’s always looking for new ways to get better. We just (have to) pick him up, let him know this team always has his back and let him do the rest. He has a strong head on his shoulders.”

And, one would hope, a very short memory.

(Top photo of Joey Cantillo and Stephen Vogt: Dustin Satloff/MLB Photos via Getty Images)