We saw Yankees throw stymie Guardian bats in Game 1 of the ALCS, racking up 14 strikeouts – nine of which belonged to Carlos Rodon in a noble six-inning start.

With the ball being passed to Gerrit Cole for Tuesday’s game at Yankee Stadium, I don’t expect the same volume from the Bombers’ ace.

Cole’s speed took a hit after he returned to the rotation in June after rehabbing an elbow infection that left him on the injured list for 75 games. It took him some time to stabilize his pitch count and overall command, and while he made 10 starts with six strikeouts or more, the consistency of his pitch execution isn’t what it was in years past.

Cole’s strikeout per nine dropped for the third straight season to 9.38.

Yankees vs. Guardians ALCS Game 2 Odds

His win against Kansas City yielded just four strikeouts, but it was Cole’s ability to maneuver the strike zone effectively and allow zero walks that carried him through seven innings.

Cole masterfully avoided power zones, even as he keeps the ball in play with ground balls and catches while letting his defense move in behind him.

The Royals finished with the second-fewest strikeouts; Cleveland struck out the fourth fewest.

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Cole led the Guardians to one hit in six innings of work in the Yankees’ 6–0 win on August 22, but he struck out only two.

This general idea that the Yankees have a red carpet leading them to the World Series has some merit given their icy Statcast profile, which reflects a last-place standing in almost every advanced contact metric — most notably the weakest team exit velocity in the MLB.

But despite how much the Yankees eclipse them in power offense, the Guardians have survived thus far with stubborn plate discipline.

Cleveland swung and missed at a rate of 23 percent — the fifth-lowest rate — while hitting contact on 83.5 of its pitches distributed in the strike zone, according to Statcast.

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Even with Cole flirting with the outside, his chase rate dropped to a pedestrian 66th percentile and the Guardians connected on 60.5 pitches they chased.

The crowd is rooting for the Yankees to win Game 2 with 97 percent of the control on them. That kind of love leans me toward Cleveland’s potential to make things a little tougher for Cole in the early frames.

THE GAME: Gerrit Cole strikeouts under 5.5 (-120, BetMGM)

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Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He focuses primarily on choices that reflect market value while following trends to limit risks.