The Yankees have found themselves in the trenches at many points in this 2024 postseason run. More often than not they have escaped. The Yankees were locked in a tough, messy battle with the Guardians, taking more chances, taking advantage of more opposition mistakes and ultimately taking the big blow too late to seal the deal. Aaron Judge finally broke through for his first home run of the playoffs, and the Yankees won 6-2 and took a crucial 2-0 ALCS lead.

The Yankees offense started with a sequence that has become a familiar refrain in these playoffs. Gleyber Torres, great from the leadoff spot, hit a double off Tanner Bibee to kick off the night. Juan Soto singled to right to move Torres to third and give Judge a chance to give the Yankees an early lead. He appeared to have failed when he popped up a mile high to the shortstop. But Brayan Rocchio, named today as one of the Guardians’ four Gold Glove finalists, dropped the ball Luis Castillo-style. Torres scored on the precious E6 to put the Yankees on the board.

It was clearly a huge mistake, made even more egregious by the fact that the Yanks went down in order after the blunder. Bibee threw 27 pitches in that opening inning; It only took one more for Cole to get through two. Like his last start against the Royals, he was fastball-heavy from the jump. He worked a 1-2-3 inning in the first inning with two strikeouts before leaving Josh Naylor at first base in the second.

The Yankee lineup got after it again in the second, with Anthony Volpe collecting a leadoff hit and taking third on a subsequent single by Anthony Rizzo. Alex Verdugo came up with runners on the corners, and he tapped a liner down the left field line that grazed the back of umpire Vic Carapazza into fair territory. Volpe scored, Rizzo went to third and the Yankees knocked Cleveland’s starter out of the game before he could get five outs.

Manager Stephen Vogt made the call to intentionally walk Soto so he could throw to Judge along with Cade Smith. Of the three excellent rookie relievers the Guardians employ, Smith is probably the dirtiest. He strikes out opposing hitters more than 35 percent of the time and has held them to a batting average below .200. In other words, a tough pitcher for Judge to get out of his funk, even with the bases loaded.

Judge got stuck, but had enough power to punch him deep enough in the left center to plate Rizzo. His second sac-fly of the series made it 3-0, Yankees. Smith then made quick work of the struggling Austin Wells to strand three more pinstriped sailors on the open sea.

That could have come back to haunt them quickly as Cole allowed a hit and a walk to set up the equalizer for the Guardians. But Kyle Manzardo came out with some bad swings on poorly located pitches, then José Ramírez hit one to right center. Cole had neutralized the threat for the time being.

But the Guardians showed up the next frame and got the first two runners on board. Cole then walked to load the bases with one out. Vogt went to his bench and called on David Fry to bat for Bo Naylor. Cole made sure he got into foul territory with Jazz Chisholm Jr. landed on the first pitch, then struck out the hot-hitting Rocchio after a long battle to avert the crisis again.

Problems arose again in the fifth inning. Kwan and Manzardo greeted Cole with back-to-back singles, then Ramírez walked to load the bases with no one out. The bullpen got active when Naylor threw a ball to right for a sac-bunt to finally get Cleveland on the board. When Thomas walked to reload the bases, manager Aaron Boone finally threw up his arms and removed his wild ace. He called for Holmes to get two key outs with no room for error.

Holmes traded a run for an out on a fielder’s choice by Brennan. With the lead narrowed to 3-2, backup catcher Austin Hedges – fortunately one of the worst hitters in baseball – loaded the bases again. At 0-2, Holmes completely spiked a breaking ball, but Wells made a great stop to preserve the Yankee lead. Holmes struck out Hedges on the next pitch. He would get the victory in relief.

Cole’s command faltered after the first two innings, especially on his fastball. He couldn’t get Cleveland hitters to chase his offspeed offerings, and was bailed out a few times by poor approaches – the Manzardo and Fry at-bats being prime examples. The ace finished with two runs on six hits with four walks and four K’s.

After Tim Hill restored his sanity with a 1-2-3 sixth, Chisholm threw that sanity to the wind by getting eliminated at second base on a leadoff double. Fortunately, Rizzo, broken fingers and all, was able to defibrillate the rally with a single down the right field line. Volpe, running from first, fired home as Brennan struggled to clear the ball into the corner. He scored for a crucial insurance run, but it could have been two runs had it not been for Chisholm’s blunder. Then Rizzo spent his goodwill Also he was picked out between second and third when he strayed too far from the bag on a ball blocked by Hedges. This team can win, but they also test your patience almost every time.

Hill got two more big outs without incident, and Tommy Kahnle sidestepped a walk to put another out on the board. The Cleveland bullpen took the spotlight, and rightly so, but the Yankee bullpen stole the show, coming in with leads to protect and maintain with aplomb.

In the seventh, facing the fantastic Hunter Gaddis, Aaron Judge took a mighty cut. He threw a ball 37 degrees into the air, toward the center, into the deepest part of the park. A ball that high in the air isn’t going anywhere on a cold night, right? Wrong.

Judge hit it at 110 mph, and he comfortably drove over the wall for his first home run of the 2024 postseason.

Now that Judge has gotten rid of that ten-ton gorilla, maybe the offense will finally start firing on all cylinders. However, that wasn’t necessary as the bullpen was still out as it was all playoffs. Kahnle kept the Guards in place so Luke Weaver could only muster three outs tonight. Ramírez connected for a home run over the short porch to move Cleveland one run closer, but Weaver stayed on course to seal the victory and advance in the two-game-to-nil series.

The Yankees return to action on Thursday night in Cleveland and look to bury the Guardians in a 3-0 hole. Clarke Schmidt is expected to start for the Yanks, and while Vogt has not yet officially named his Game 3 starter, it seems likely it will be veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd. Progressive Field’s first pitch will take place at 5:08 PM ET on TBS.

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