Judge Homers Twice, Yankees Take Series Opener From Guardians

Cleveland couldn't come up with a clutch hit, despite out-hitting New York in the game.

Cleveland's modest 3-game win streak came to a halt in the opener after the team couldn't buy a hit with a runner in scoring position.

The Yankees lineup is basically built to hit home runs, walk and strikeout ... and while they didn't get off to a great start against Eli Morgan, Aaron Judge homered twice to give New York the first win of the weekend. Final score on Friday night was 4-1.

What went well for the Guardians?

Franmil Reyes went deep for the second straight day after not hitting a home run in his previous 84 at bats prior to yesterday's long ball. 

I thought Eli Morgan also pitched well. He was on a pretty limited pitch count as he made his first start of the season. Morgan's changeup kept Yankee hitters off balance throughout his three innings of work. He made one mistake and Judge deposited it into the right-center field seats.

Steven Kwan continued to swing a good bat. He nearly homered in the first inning, doubling off the top of the wall in right field. He finished the game 2-for-4.

Bryan Lavastida all earned his first hit as a Major League player with a nice single to right field in his first at bat of the night.

What went wrong?

Bobby Bradley continues to really struggle at the plate. He went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and is now hitting .067 on the season (1-for-15 with eight K's). His slow start comes on the heels of a spring training that featured eight hits in 38 at-bats with 10 more strikeouts. He wasn't getting many chances to play when Owen Miller was healthy because Miller got off to such a hot start. But with Miller on the CoVID/IL right now, Bradley is getting a few more looks.

The left-handed hitter, who was long-considered Cleveland's future at first base, is out of options. With the end of April approaching and the roster cutting back from 28 to 25 on May 1, Bradley could be on the outside-looking-in.

It was more than just Bradley though. Jameson Taillon struck out five over five innings and scattered seven hits as Cleveland couldn't come up with a clutch hit all night. They finished the night 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position after hitting .300 in those situations through the first 12 games of the year.

Meanwhile, Michael King completely overpowered the lineup. He struck out eight batters in three innings, including seven straight hitters. Only Amed Rosario managed a soft single against him.

Andres Gimenez also got thrown out at third base trying to go from first to third on Steven Kwan's fifth inning single.

What's next?

Game two of the series on Saturday afternoon was supposed to pin rookie Kirk McCarty against Nestor Cortets. McCarty was scheduled to make his Major League debut. 

But Terry Francona said postgame (press conference video above) that Cal Quantrill (barring any unexpected setbacks) is going to start tomorrow instead. Quantrill had been on the CoVID/IL, but has cleared protocols. McCarty could still be available in a relief role.

Tanner Tully, who made his MLB debut this evening by throwing two innings of relief, is heading back to Triple-A Columbus. He gave up the second of Aaron Judge's two home runs, but otherwise pitched fine.

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