NEW YORK — Yankee Stadium was packed with firsts Tuesday night. It was the Bronx’s first postseason game since Game 5 of the 2019 ALCS. It was Gerrit Cole’s first postseason home start as a Yankee. Two players hit their first home runs after the season. And the New York Yankees won the first game of their ALDS matchup against the Cleveland Guardians (NYY 4, CLE 1).
Cole dodged around early problems to give the Yankees 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball while hitting an eight against the team with the lowest strikeout rate in baseball in the regular season. Anthony Rizzo finished the game with a two-run home run into the second deck in right field in the sixth inning. New York is now two wins away from promotion to the ALCS.
Here are takeaways from Game 1 between the Yankees and Guardians.
Cole navigates early danger
The Guardians certainly made Cole work in the early innings. They got a man to second base in the first and second innings, but Cole escaped with strikes, then a nifty defense helped him navigate a base-laden one-out jam in the third. Most notably, Josh Donaldson reached down his left for a bottom and threw home to pull the squad out.
Following that at home, Cole settled and pulled back 12 of the last 14 batters he faced, and Cleveland didn’t have another runner advance to second base while he was on the mound. His only blemish was a solo homer from Steven Kwan — it was Kwan’s first homer of his postseason career and only his seventh homer of 2022 — and in three starts this season, Cole held the Guardians in three runs in 19 innings.
It should be noted that although Cole needed 39 pitches to get through the first inning, he was able to get the ball into the seventh inning. That’s important because the Yankees are without several key assists (Zack Britton, Scot Effross, Chad Green, Michael King, etc.) due to injuries and will have to cobble it all together in the late innings of this postseason. The more of their appetizers they get, the better.
“It was something very special for me. It was very special,” said Cole with a smile when asked about the ovation he received after Game 1. I recognize the crowd, but I appreciated it.”
The eventful fifth inning
There was some fun stuff in right field at the end of the fifth inning. First, Donaldson lifted what he and 47,807 people in the Bronx believed to be a go-ahead solo home run to the right-field pitches. The ball hit the top of the wall but got back into play, and Donaldson was tagged after rounding first base on his wannabe home run trot. Replays confirmed that the ball had indeed hit the top of the wall. It wasn’t a home game.
The next batter, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, nudged a single down the line in right field and Wild Card Series hero Oscar Gonzalez misplayed the hop and sent the ball through his legs. Kiner-Falefa made it to third base from the error and Jose Trevino put him in play with a go-ahead sacrifice fly. Right field took a homer from Donaldson and gave Kiner-Falefa three bases.
“He’s been doing that all year. He made that mistake (in the first inning), he rebounded really well,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Game 1 of Kiner-Falefa. “Obviously, then he gets a big hit in the corner. The set is set. So yeah, it was good that he got more chances and sort of bounced back from that.
Trevino, who made his first All-Star game this summer, was incredibly handy during the regular season. He had two walk-off hits and hit .355 with runners in scoring position. The sack fly wasn’t a hit, but it came with two hits and gave the Yankees the lead in the postseason. Trevino has really been a godsend for New York this year.
Rizzo gives the Yankees insurance
The Yankees scored their first run on Harrison Bader’s first postseason home run of his career and also on his first home run as a Yankee. He came over from the Cardinals at close and was on the injured list with a foot injury. He wasn’t activated until mid-September, and he went 10 for 46 (.217) in a 14-game tune. Bader timed his first Yankees homer well.
Bader leveled the game 1-1 and Trevino gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. In the sixth, Rizzo delivered two insurance runs with a homer into the second deck in right field. With Andrew Benintendi injured and Matt Carpenter currently relegated to EMS duty, Rizzo is the only reliable left-handed powerhouse in New York’s lineup. The Yankees need him to pepper the short porch.
Before Rizzo’s blast, 62-homer man Aaron Judge reminded everyone that he’s so much more than a home run hitter. He worked a leadoff walk against Cal Quantrill, stealing second place and then finishing third when the throw went into midfield. The judge got 16 this year for 19 stolen bases, on top of those 62 home runs. He’s such a gifted, versatile player.
After Rizzo gave the Yankees a 4-1 lead, manager Aaron Boone was able to navigate through the last three innings with right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga, left-hander Wandy Peralta and right-hander Clay Holmes. Game 1 was Peralta’s first appearance since September 18. He missed the last few weeks of the regular season with a back injury. It was also Holmes’ first appearance since September 26. He missed the end of the regular season with a shoulder problem. The Yankees were obviously comfortable throwing him (and Peralta) straight into the fire.
Next
Game 2 of course. Historically, teams that won Game 1 of a best-of-five series have won the series 71 percent of the time. The ALDS schedule is a little unusual this year, with a day off between Games 1 and 2 and Games 2 and 3. Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday night, although the forecast suggests weather could be an issue. Whenever Game 2 is played, there will be Nestor Cortes (12-4, 2.44 ERA) versus Shane Bieber (13-8, 2.88 ERA).
