Why Guardians ALCS Game 1 Loss to Yankees Isn't Reason To Panic

The Cleveland Guardians dropped the first game of the best-of-7 with the New York Yankees 5-2 on Monday night, but Cleveland isn't in unfamiliar territory.

Oct 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan (38) and outfielder Lane Thomas (8) wait in the outfield during the sixth 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

A cold Monday night in the Big Apple brought good news and bad news for the Cleveland Guardians.

Bluntly, the Guardians didn’t play quite well enough to win Game 1 of the ALCS. Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton both launched titanic home runs to give the Bronx Bombers the first game of the series, 5-2.

The difference in the game was likely four wild pitches from Joey Cantillo. Two of those allowed inherited runners to score after it was clear Alex Cobb wasn’t healthy enough to give Stephen Vogt’s team any length. 

Cobb left the game with tightness in his hip and back spasms, after recording only eight outs. In a series where it feels like the Yankees have a slight edge with their starting rotation, Cleveland was hoping to get more from Cobb than 2.2 innings Monday night.

Offensively, the Guardians struck out 14 times and struggled to get runners in scoring position throughout the night. 

Josh Naylor had a particularly tough evening, striking out three times and regularly chasing pitches out of the strike zone. He is 2-for-his-last-17 since Game 3 of the ALDS. If the Guardians are going to win this series, they need more from one of their two most powerful bats this year.

But it wasn’t all bad for Cleveland. There are things to build on with Game 2 coming Tuesday night.

Steven Kwan extended his postseason hit-streak to a Cleveland franchise record 11 games with an RBI single in the eighth inning.

Brayan Rocchio also continued an impressive postseason stretch with a no-doubt home run to left field in the sixth. He has hit safely in each of his first six career playoff games, tying Johnny Peralta (2007) and Lonnie Chisenhall (2013-16) for the longest postseason hitting streak to begin his career (among Cleveland players).

Jhonkensy Noel also registered his first hit of the playoffs, which ended an 0-for-13 streak in the ALDS vs. Detroit.

As much as it seemed like the Yankees were going to comfortably pull away, Cleveland brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning and still had a chance to make a late push. 

The Guardians are now 1-5 all-time in Game 1 of the ALCS, including an 0-5 record when playing that game on the road. And yet, they have won four of the six ALCS series they’ve played in throughout franchise history.

Ultimately, Cleveland needs to make somebody other than Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton beat them. Both teams finished the game with only six hits, but the Yankees’ patience at the plate and impressive power surge vaulted them out front.

Cleveland turns to its ace on Tuesday, as Tanner Bibee will try to help even the series before it shifts to Cleveland on Thursday evening. Bibee first two postseason starts have gone fairly well, but they’ll need him to be excellent against New York.

Game 2 is scheduled for 7:38 PM Tuesday evening from Yankee Stadium.