3 Guardians to blame for throwing away ALCS Game 1 vs. Yankees

The Cleveland Guardians had to scratch and claw their way to the ALCS, as evidenced by going five games in the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers. After winning Game 5 on Saturday, the Guardians had to head to New York to take on the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday night.

The Guardians were unable to make an impact in Game 1, as they lost 5-2 to the Yankees to put themselves at an 0-1 deficit in the series.

Cleveland saw the damage being done in the third inning after Juan Soto hit a solo home run, and Joey Cantillo surrendered two runs on wild pitches, putting them in an early 3-0 hole. Add a sacrifice fly by Aaron Judge in the fourth inning and a massive solo homer by Giancarlo Stanton in the seventh inning, Cleveland's two runs scored late in the game just weren't enough.

When it comes to playing the blame game, these three deserve to have the finger pointed in their direction.

3 Guardians to blame for throwing away ALCS Game 1

3. Alex Cobb, RHP

After getting through the ALDS, manager Stephen Vogt announced that Alex Cobb would get the start for the Guardians on Monday night. Things went relatively smoothly in the first inning, as Cobb rebounded from surrendering back-to-back singles by Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto by striking out Aaron Judge, forcing Austin Wells to groundout, and getting Giancarlo Stanton to flyout.

The second inning was a bit shaky for Cobb, as he allowed back-to-back singles by Anthony Rizzo and Alex Verdugo after getting Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe out in the first at-bats of the inning. But, Cobb got out of it by getting Verdugo out at second on a forceout.

But in the third, Cobb put the Guardians in a terrible spot. Cobb surrendered the solo homer to Soto to start the inning. Then, Cobb loaded the bases by walking Judge, Stanton, and Volpe in the next five batters faced. While Cobb was pulled from the game, he set up the Yankees for three runs total in that inning.

Now, Cobb has a 7.94 ERA and an 0-2 record in this postseason after his rough night at Yankee Stadium.

2. Joey Cantillo, LHP

Next up on the list is relief pitcher Joey Cantillo, who had the unfortunate task of trying to clean up the mess made by Cobb. The thing is, Cantillo wasn't any better.

Cantillo made his MLB debut this past July and was part of the team's bullpen this postseason. In the third inning against the Yankees, Cantillo threw two wild pitches, which allowed both Judge and Stanton to score to put the Yankees up 3-0. Cantillo did get Verdugo to strike out to get out of the inning.

Cantillo returned for the fourth inning, but walked Torres on five pitches, then threw two more wild pitches that allowed the Yankees infielder to get to third base. Cantillo walked Soto, and Vogt saw enough, replacing him with Pedro Avila.

Cantillo's final stat line was one earned run allowed, three walks issued, and one strikeout recorded in just 0.1 innings.

1. Stephen Vogt, Manager

Vogt gets the blame for this loss, mostly due to his decision in the third inning. Cobb had put the Guardians iin a huge jam by loading the bases and surrendering a homer to Soto. Vogt had his choice of many relief pitchers from his incredible bullpen. Yes, they were used heavily in the ALDS, but this is a game to make an early statement against a team that many believe should coast to the World Series.

Vogt decided to call upon Cantillo, who is inexperienced, to clean up Cobb's mess. Two runs and four wild pitches later, Vogt learned his lesson the hard way.

The Guardians did score two runs on a solo homer by Brayan Rocchio and an RBI single by Steven Kwan, but it wasn't enough. Who knows what could have been if Vogt hadn't botched his third-inning decision?