Guardians anxious over ‘loud’ fan moments in The Bronx

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees have a die-hard fans base and this is sure to give anxious moments to the Cleveland Guardians when both teams meet at Yankee Stadium for ALDS Game 1 on Tuesday.

Their American League Division Series Game 1 is the Guardians’ first trip to the Bronx since an ugly April series. Following the Yankees‘ rally to win 5-4, fans threw bottles, cans, and other things at Cleveland outfielders.

After teammate Oscar Mercado told him that a fan was cheering because left fielder Steven Kwan got hurt, Guardians’ Myles Straw got into a fight with a fan after climbing the wall.

The next day, New York fans yelled “Crybaby!” at him for calling the Yankees’ supporters “the worst fan base on the planet,”

On Monday, the Guardians’ outfielder tried to downplay it though he looked wary of having such moments again and said, “I think it will be loud; in the end, it’s just noise; there’s nothing new; baseball is in the playoffs and it’s meant to be loud.”

Straw said that he was harassed over social media after the incident. According to him:

“They’ll send death threats and all sorts of other things. But this happens in all kinds of sports. So, I try not to look at things like that and not let them bother me.”

The winner of the best-of-five series will play either Houston or Seattle, the reigning AL champions, for the AL pennant.

It will be the first postseason game at Yankee Stadium since 2019. In 2020, New York swept two games at Cleveland, but then Tampa Bay beat them in a series played at a neutral site, San Diego. The Yankees lost the wild-card game to Boston last year.

The Yankees count on their passionate fans and the familiar short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium. Their fans have helped them get a 57-24 record at home, which is tied for the best in the majors.

Aaron Judge, who has had a historic season this year, feels that the ballpark is heaven for him despite jitters from angry fans. He admired ever-cheering Yankee fans when he said:

“Man, it’s heaven. I get the jitters. The intros, running out on that line, the crowd cheering, the whole crisp, cool air. There’s nothing like it. You can’t hear the Roll Call — even when I’m in right field, with the Bleacher Creatures, I can barely hear what they are saying.”

Even Terry Francona, the manager of the Guardians, likes the atmosphere. “That’s part of the fun of being here,” said Francona, who used to play for the rival Red Sox and was used to the intensity of the Bronx.

After hitting two home runs in his last 14 games and setting an AL record with his 62nd home run on the next-to-last day of the regular season, Judge’s stats are reset for the playoffs.

The AL East champion Yankees had a first-round bye, so Gerrit Cole (13-8) will start the first game. The AL Central champion Guardians, who beat the Rays in two straight games last weekend in the wild-card round and are 26-6 since Sept. 5, will send out pitcher Cal Quantrill (15-5).

Cole lost the wild-card game last year at Fenway Park, so this will be his first postseason start for the Yankees at home. He gave up the most home runs in the AL, 33. Long balls drove in 55 of the 81 runs that were scored against him, including seven three-run homers.

Since losing at Detroit on July 5, the Guardians’ starting pitcher Quantrill has made 17 starts and is 11-0 with a 2.95 ERA. His dad, Paul, pitched for the Yankees in 2004. In the 12th inning of Game 4 of the AL Championship Series, David Ortiz hit a home run that won the game for Boston, which had been down three games to none.

Cal, who was 9 at the time, said, “I have some pretty cool memories of when he played here and they were pretty much putting out a Hall of Fame team every day.”

Nick Sandlin, a right-handed reliever, will not be able to play because he hurt his throwing shoulder in Saturday’s win over the Rays. The Guardians also plan to bring in right-handed pitcher Aaron Civale and rookie Cody Morris, but they will get rid of left-handed pitcher Kirk McCarty.

Because of the strange schedule, which has days off after both Games 1 and 2, the Yankees plan to have only 12 pitchers on its 26-person roster against the Guardians.

Matt Carpenter has been out of action since August 8 because of a broken left foot. But he is sure to be in New York’s lineup. Boone said that DJ LeMahieu‘s toe injury made him worried about how well he could swing, and he didn’t know if the 2020 AL batting champion would be able to play.

Will the Yankees’ fans again show hostility toward the Guardians during the ALDS games?