Yankees vs. Guardians ALCS Game 2 recap: Aaron Judge homer fuels 6-3 win
The New York Yankees will hit the road with a 2-0 series lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series after Tuesday night’s 6-3 win at Yankees Stadium.
After taking Game 1 of the series behind a stellar outing from Carlos Rodon, the Yankees turned to their ace to provide another strong game on the mound. Unfortunately, Gerrit Cole didn’t quite deliver the dominant outing they had been used to.
The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner labored through his first start of the ALCS, finishing with 4.1 innings, six hits, two runs (both earned), four walks, four strikeouts and 10 whiffs on 89 pitches.
It wasn’t an outing that doomed the Yankees by any means, but it certainly was a disappointing game for Cole considering the past success he’s had against Cleveland during the postseason.
Even so, the Yankees bullpen picked up their ace in a big way after his fifth-inning exit. They combined for 4.1 scoreless innings before Luke Weaver surrendered a solo home run to Jose Ramirez in the top of the ninth inning.
Offensively, the Yankees had plenty of chances to make this a rout, and Aaron Judge showed a lot more life. He smoked his first home run of the postseason while driving in three runs.
Here’s our recap of the Yankees’ Game 2 win over the Guardians.
Yankees vs. Guardians ALCS Game 2 recapFinal Score: Yankees 6, Guardians 3
 123456789FinalCLE0000200013NYY12000120–6Keys to the game
The Yankees offense recorded 13 hard-hit balls (95+ mph EV) and a 7.1% barrel rate.Even with Cole not having his best stuff, the Yankees limited the damage by getting the Guardians to go 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.Cleveland also left 11 runners on base.The Yankees took advantage of a first-inning error by Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who dropped an infield pop-up.Stars of the Game
2B Gleyber Torres: 3-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RRP Clay Holmes: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SOCF Aaron Judge:Â 1-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, 1Â RRP Tim Hill: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0Â BB, 1Â KQuick Hits
Giancarlo Stanton didn’t record a hit but three of his batted balls recorded an exit velocity above 95 mph.Guardians starting pitchers have failed to get through three full innings this series.As expected, Cole leaned heavily on his four-seam fastball, throwing it 47% of the time, generating six swings and misses on the pitch.The Yankees’ 11 hits Tuesday night are the most they’ve recorded in a game this postseason.Luke Weaver surrendered his first run of the postseason on a solo home run by Jose Ramirez. It was the first run Weaver had given up in 17 consecutive innings dating back to Sept. 20.Anthony Volpe had two hits, a walk and two runs scored.The Yankees were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.The Yankees are 15-4 (3-1 in ALCS) when leading a seven-game series 2-0.What’s next?
The Yankees will have Wednesday off for travel as the series heads to Cleveland for Game 3 with Clarke Schmidt getting the call.
