Guardians Manager Reacts To ALCS Game 1 Loss vs. Yankees

Stephen Vogt explained his pitching decisions in the Cleveland Guardians' ALCS Game 1 loss.

Oct 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Cleveland Guardians manger Stephen Vogt walks to the mound to to relieve pitcher Joey Cantillo (54) during the fourth inning against the New York Yankees in game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Game 1 of the ALCS did not go as planned for the Cleveland Guardians. Well, it was really one inning that got away from Cleveland's pitchers and catcher, opening up the door for the New York Yankees to take a commanding lead.

While the Guardians had some positives and bright spots when looking ahead in this series, the main talking point from their loss will be New York's three-run third inning, in which they scored twice because of wild pitches.

With how good Erik Sabrowski and Pedro Avila looked later in the game, everyone will question why the team turned to Joey Cantillo to come into the game with runners on base and did not give him a clean inning.

After the game, Stephen Vogt explained his rationale for going for Cantillo and what he saw from his left-handed pitcher during that inning.

"When that -- when Cobb started to feel the tightness in his hip and back spasms, we went out to check on him to make sure he was all right. He was kind of in and out, and we wanted to see if he could get a few more outs. Joey has done a good job for us coming out of the bullpen, and that inning just kind of got away from us, and that was it."

"It just liked his command, he looked a little sped up at first, but then it just looked like he was having a hard time finding the strike zone. We've seen Joey the last month, month and a half been great, so it was very uncharacteristic of him."

Oct 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt calls to the bull pen for a pitching change during the third inning against the New York Yankees in game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Guardians would be playing a much different game if those two runs had not crossed the plate in the third inning. Obviously, there are some things Vogt would change if he were to go back and replay this game.

But that's in the past; the Guardian's focus needs to be on wrapping up this series on Tuesday night.