CLEVELAND — The sixth inning had arrived in Game 4 of the ALCS between the Yankees and the Guardians, and it was once again rookie right-hander Cade Smith’s turn to pitch for Cleveland.

For the third time in three games, Smith was called upon by manager Stephen Vogt to handle the monster in the middle of New York’s batting order: Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. It’s a tall order on paper for any reliever, but Smith’s sensational debut campaign as Cleveland’s breakout bullpen ace had built enough confidence that the hard-throwing 25-year-old could be up to the challenge, if only multiple times.

“He’s the best strikeout reliever we have, and in that situation I trust Cade to make pitches there,” manager Stephen Vogt said afterward. “He’s been doing it all year.”

In Game 2 in the Bronx, Smith came on in the second inning and faced Judge with the bases loaded after Vogt intentionally walked Soto with first base open and one out. Smith held Judge to a sacrifice fly before striking out Austin Wells to end the frame and coax a Stanton groundout in the next inning.

In Game 3 on Thursday – a few innings before the unforgettable roller coaster ride began in earnest – Smith emerged with a one-run lead in the sixth and struck out Soto, Judge and Stanton on 10 pitches, including striking out Judge with a snappy splitter.

On Friday in Game 4, which the Yankees ultimately won 8-6, a similar assignment occurred: Soto led again in the sixth inning, followed by Judge, new cleanup hitter Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Stanton if a runner were to arrive. This time, Cleveland trailed by a point, with Smith coming in hoping to prevent New York’s top bats from increasing their lead.

That’s not what happened. Soto made a five-pitch walk to open the frame. Judge followed with a quick single to left. Chisholm bumped them into second and third place after a sacrifice. All of this put Stanton and his team-leading OPS at bat with one out and two in scoring position.

Smith offered four consecutive fastballs – all four-seamers that normally average 96 mph, but maxed out at 94 mph this evening – and on a 1-2 count, Stanton drilled a no-doubt to left center field, making it 6-2. Yankees.

With every passing game and every additional trot by the bullpen to dive headfirst into the pressure cooker that is baseball’s postseason, relievers begin to wear down. At the same time, with each additional look at the arms against whom they rarely get multiple at-bats during the regular season, hitters begin to build confidence and comfort. That dynamic is exaggerated when the hitters involved are already among the best in the league under any circumstances, as is the case for the Yankees’ best hitters.

Soto, Judge and Stanton are simply too talented, too meticulous at their craft and too brilliant at their execution to be repeatedly fooled or overwhelmed by the same pitcher. That was on full display Friday, as Smith suffered the effects of overuse and overexposure to baseball’s very best players.

“That’s what the Yankees do very well,” Vogt said afterwards. “They approach your pitchers really well, and then they get pitches over the middle. They don’t miss them, and they’ve really benefited.”

However, Smith’s rare meltdown – only the second time this season he has allowed three earned runs in an outing – did not sink the Guardians. As time and time again, Cleveland got back into the game. It wasn’t particularly pretty, but the scoreboard continued to trend in the Guardians’ favor. Seventh-inning doubles by José Ramírez and Josh Naylor off Clay Holmes — talk about tired relievers — closed the gap to just one run.

The eighth inning featured a much crazier run-scoring effort. With Bo Naylor on third base, David Fry mishit a soft bouncer back toward pitcher Mark Leiter Jr., who tried to pick up the ball and throw it to first baseman Anthony Rizzo for the out, but instead it went past Rizzo’s waiting glove and felt through his legs. , allowing Naylor to score the tying run.

As far as style points go, it was the opposite of Jhonkensy Noel’s majestic, drawn game the previous night, yet it all counted the same: the Guardians had leveled the score and given themselves the chance to steal another stunning victory.

“It would have been really easy if Cade had given up the three-run homer so we could just fold and leave, but that’s not what this group does,” Vogt said. “…We got a chance to swing the bat and win the game. That’s who this team is.”

But a potential victory would first require an attempt at redemption for closer Emmanuel Clase.

Unlike Smith, who had been great at every turn until Friday’s misstep, Clase was in the midst of a bewildering October funk entering Game 4. He was one night away from surrendering back-to-back homers to Judge and Stanton that gave the Yankees a then-shocking lead, which Clase’s resilient teammates eventually regained. Those consecutive high-pressure crushing blows, coupled with his lackluster form in the final round against Detroit, have made Clase’s spectacular regular season – one of the best campaigns ever completed by a relief pitcher – feel like a distant memory.

However, Game 4 seemed like a favorable situation for Clase to regain some confidence. He didn’t come in in the middle of an inning with a runner already on base – something he was exposed to several times this month after not doing so once in the regular season – but to start the ninth with a clean slate. start. With Cleveland having seized some momentum with the chaotic sequence to tie the game, it was up to Clase to keep control of the scoreboard against the bottom of New York’s lineup.

Still, it didn’t take long for the Yankees to produce some traffic. Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe each singled on the second cutter they saw, and the Yankees got right to work. Collecting consecutive baserunners against Clase in July or August was a monumental challenge for opponents. In October it has somehow become commonplace.

A steal by Volpe, an uncharacteristic error by shortstop Brayan Rocchio and a single by Gleyber Torres followed, adding two more runs to the all-star closer’s postseason ledger. For the third time this month, Clase was on the mound, with his team suddenly behind on pitches he had thrown. While he didn’t allow another jaw-dropping dinger, Clase let another play slip, opening a new door for the opposition after slamming it shut for six months.

And this time his teammates couldn’t pick him up, as a rally in the bottom of the ninth fell short.

Clase, alongside Smith, headlined a bullpen that was Cleveland’s definitive superpower in October. It’s a group that still has the depth to shine through occasionally – Hunter Gaddis looked fantastic on Friday – but is undoubtedly collectively running on fumes, and New York’s lineup has capitalized accordingly.

It’s always a good sign for the Yankees when Soto, Judge and Stanton punish opposing pitchers like they did against Smith in the sixth. But for a lineup that has been brutally top-heavy all year, rallies from players like Rizzo, Volpe and Torres against a closer like Clase, even in his diminished state, are particularly promising developments.

Earlier in Game 4, rookie catcher Austin Wells hit a home run to center field for his first hit of the LCS and first extra-base hit of the postseason after starting on 2-out October 26. Wells was red hot in the summer, posting a .303/.389/.549 line in July and August, putting him in AL Rookie of the Year conversations. But a frigid September continued into the postseason, diminishing the threat of his bat in the middle of the Yankees’ lineup at a time when every at-bat carries significant weight. Wells isn’t alone in his offensive struggles as a backstop in October — catchers on LCS teams collectively hit .130/.201/.163 on Friday — but if he can regain his midsummer form, it could be a game-changer for this. offence.

Make no mistake: Soto, Judge and Stanton will have to continue driving this train. But if New York wants to advance and take on a Mets or Dodgers team with much more offensive firepower than Cleveland, the contributions of the rest of the lineup will be paramount. For the Yankees, Game 4 marked a step in the right direction on that front.

Saturday in Game 5, it’s a fully rested Carlos Rodón against a less rested Tanner Bibee. Rodon shined in Game 1, while Bibee lasted just four outs in Game 2. This time, the pressure will be on Bibee to cover as many innings as possible so as not to further expose Cleveland’s beleaguered bullpen. That puts Vogt in an especially difficult position with the Guardians facing elimination, a situation where managers tend to deploy their bullpens with the utmost urgency. After two terribly taxing days for the pitching staff, Vogt might not have that luxury; Bibee must deliver, otherwise this series can be completed quickly.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are just one win away from the Fall Classic, with an offense that appears to be growing more imposing by the day – a development that could be the difference between reaching New York’s first World Series since 2009 and actually winning his first title in 15 years.