The baseball playoffs have started, and we have the first winner in the Cleveland Guardians. They will play the New York Yankees, who will join it, on Tuesday. Cleveland, the youngest team in Major League Baseball, could pose a tough ALDS challenge to the famed Yankees, the most experienced playoff entrants.
The Guardians swept away the Rays 2-0 in the wild card meeting thanks to an exhibition of brilliancy by its pitchers, who gave up only one run in 24 innings. Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie had a near-flawless performance that doomed the Rays’ hopes. Also, its pitchers have some good rest before they meet the Yankees’ blistering offense in the ALDS.
While Cleveland’s pitching is capable of causing problems for any opponent to score runs, the Yankees are not mere mortals. Led by home run king Aaron Judge and with hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium in the background, they can put to task any pitcher irrespective of their playoff record.
The Yankees remain above
The Yankees won the season series against the Guardians and they are expected to repeat it in the ALDS too. But the Rays always seemed to work harder than the Yankees, and Cleveland’s playoff win over them often torment New York fans. Still, the Yankees have the edge. The final score of the season series was 5-1 in New York’s favor.
Since the Guardians only played the Bombers six times, it’s probably best to forget how the season series ended. The Guardians only had one win, and in the five Yankee wins, they gave up 38 runs. Even though they haven’t played each other since July, Cleveland was probably the hottest baseball team for a long time.
Other than the season series, which has nothing to do with the playoffs, there are a number of other things that are the same. The Guardians have flaws that could help the Yanks in the ALDS games.
Cleveland lacks power and depends more on its bullpen to power it against its opponents. But in playoffs, hitting is more crucial to win games and the Yankees have a better ALDS chance thanks to their solid offense. It comes to a draw or slight edge to the Yankees when Judge and co. are pitted against Bieber and co. The Guardians can’t expect to silence the Yank hitters, who can clinch big ALDS wins for the team.
But when it reverses and we consider Cleveland’s playoff batting lineup against New York’s pitcher, the Yankees steal a lead. Pitchers like Gerrit Cole, who has given 33 home runs this season, showed his credence as the MLB season folded up. It looks difficult that the Guardians to find a way to upset both the Yankees pitching and hitting departments together in the ALDS games.
The Guardians lack playoff experience
The last time the Guardians played in the postseason was in 2020. One bad thing about them is that they are one of the youngest teams in ALDS baseball. Their two young stars Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez were great during the regular season, but they have never played in the playoffs. It’s too early to make a judgment, but the constant pressure of the playoffs could catch them off guard giving the Yankees an upper hand in the ALDS series.
Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor seem to be the only ones on this team who have been to the playoffs before. Naylor was a monster in the 2020 playoffs that saw the Yankees beating his team to head to the ALDS. Ramirez has been around long enough to adjust to pitching in the playoffs. Also, Oscar Gonzalez and Owen Miller are both young players who have never been to the postseason before.
The Yankees will have their way
No matter what, the Yankees are in a good position to start the ALDS with Game 1 at Yankee Stadium. It is a game they must win to set the tone and increase their leverage. The offense matters more and the leader of the offense Aaron Judge is hitting .235 against the Guardians this season, compared to .299 against the Rays. He has scored four hits, two home runs, three RBIs, and five runs over the course of six games against Cleveland. In 19 games against Tampa Bay, he has 20 hits, 12 RBIs, and six homers.
When we talk about the best pitchers on this team, we should begin with Gerrit Cole, who might start Game 1 of the ALDS. He has two starts this season against Cleveland with a 1.42 ERA and 15 strikeouts. Against the Rays, he has a 1.07 ERA and 35 strikeouts. Based on his stats, Cole has a good chance of doing well against either team. This suggests that he
If you look at Nestor Cortés‘s stats against Cleveland, he has started twice and boasts a 2.19 ERA and 14 strikeouts.
What do you think about the ALDS series? Will the Yankees win the first three games?
