We’re Baaaaack - Yankees vs Guardians (Game 5 Recap)

I guess Cleveland hadn’t heard the incessant whining about how easy the Yankees path to a World Series was - because these pesky Guards really thought they had a chance in this series.

To me, Cleveland is the perfect postseason foe. They’re scrappy and annoying enough to be somewhat competitive - which allows my team to produce electrifying moments and memories that will last a lifetime - while they also are never quite good enough to serve as an actual threat.

Think of Cleveland as a nice sparring partner, a good warm up set before you max out your bench, or a little brother you try out new characters on in Super Smash Bros.

But alas, all good things (i.e. series against mediocre teams) must come to an end. While Cleveland’s story has concluded, ours will continue to a place we haven’t been in 15 long years.

Ladies and (mostly) Gentlemen - I am pleased to announce…

We’re Baaaaack!

The Yanks began the night with a Gleyber Torres leadoff single, followed by a Soto gapper. I fully understand trying to set the tone early, but Rojas sending Gleyber with no outs in that situation is inexcusable. Allowing Torres to get gunned down at the plate not only allowed a rattled Bibee to settle in, but caused the Yanks to leave an inning with 4 baserunners completely scoreless.

To me, Rodon’s start felt a lot better than the final stat line would indicate. He was missing bats and pounding the zone - but a few lengthy ABs destroyed his pitch count and emptied his gas tank.

The Guardians were opportunistic in the early innings. They didn’t have many baserunners but converted in each of their early opportunities. Through 5, Cleveland held a 2-0 lead.

Desperate to get length out of a starting pitcher for the first time this series - Bibee came out for the 6th to face the top of the Yankee lineup. Major shoutout to Vogt, who continues to pitch to Stanton despite having 1st and 2nd base open with 2 outs. I can’t tell if this guy is too prideful to throw up the 4, afraid of Jazz Chisholm, or just a straight up moron.

Regardless - tie ball game bozo.

It was then up to the least trustworthy guys in our bullpen to hold the line. Mark Leiter Jr., Tim Hill (probably doesn’t deserve to be included here), and Jake Cousins came up huge with 3.1 scoreless innings in relief.

With the recent struggles of Holmes, we will undoubtedly need these guys to continue to contribute. I know it was just the Guardians, but hopefully success in these crucial situations serves as a building block for the dudes in the back pages of Boone’s phonebook.

Smith, Herrin, and Clase dominated innings 6 through 9 which sent this one into extras - where flamethrower Hunter Gaddis would take the pill.

A walk to Austin Wells and an inexplicably bad error by the Guardian shortstop set the table for the heart of the Yankee lineup. With 2 outs and 2 on, the stage was set for the showdown of the postseason.

Juan Soto stood in that box and simply demanded a fastball, spoiling slider after slider, as well as a pair of changeups. You could tell by Soto’s crazed nods after each pitch that he was seeing the ball clearly and just needed Gaddis to give in to his demands.

The result - a high heater that wasn’t high enough. And a three run jack that will live in Yankee lore for eternity.

The time to stress about Soto’s pending free agency will come - but for now, I would implore any Yankee fan to simply enjoy the show this guy puts on each and every night. He is as cold blooded a hitter as we’ve ever seen and watching him completely bitch some of the best pitchers in the game, in the biggest moments is not something that should be taken for granted.

I fucking love this guy and he’s proven to be everything we could’ve expected and more. I can’t wait to see him talk his shit and smoke some overrated ass pitchers in the World Series.

From there, all that was left to do was for Luke Weaver to get back on the horse and close out yet another Yankee Victory. This one of course, would feel a little more special.

And just like that - we’re onto the Fall Classic. While our opponent remains unknown, I have to say I like our chances against whoever comes out of the NL. The big boys are mashing, the arms will be rested, and we’re the mother fucking New York Yankees.

Again - I’d like to thank everyone for reading my stuff and supporting me throughout this series. While the battle of the AL is won, the war for the baseball immortality has just begun.

“See ya!” Next weekend.

Go Yanks.