Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-5 in 10 innings to open their three-game series Monday night.
- Cleveland leads the AL Central while the Yankees sit three percentage points behind the Rays in the AL East, raising the possibility of an October showdown.
- A Guardians insider admits the team struggles to match the Yankees' offensive firepower in the postseason due to lineup depth.
A frustrated Cleveland Guardians fan was riding on a Progressive Field elevator after Monday night’s game when he decided to vent to his friend.
“Those stinkin’ Yankees. They always beat us,” the fan said. “The Knicks probably won, too. I hate New York teams.”
Indeed, the stinkin’ New York Yankees defeated the Guardians 7-5 in 10 innings in the opener of a three-game series. If it was any consolation to the frustrated fan, the Knicks did lose on Monday night, falling to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
It is easy for fans in smaller and medium-sized markets to hate the Yankees. They have won 27 World Series and have the financial wherewithal to field teams that have reached the postseason 26 times in the last 31 seasons, starting in 1995. The Yankees haven’t had a losing season since 1992.
Yankees have dominated series over last 20 years
The Yankees have continually been a thorn in the Guardians’ side in recent seasons, though Cleveland took two of three from New York last week in a series at Yankee Stadium.
The teams did split six games last year, but the Yankees won the season series each of the previous four years from 2021-24. Over the last 20 seasons, beginning in 2007, the Yankees are 77-49 against the Guardians in the regular season.
The Guardians’ greatest frustration against the Yankees has come in the postseason. Since Cleveland defeated the Yankees in four games in an American League Division Series in 2007 — thanks in part to midges coming in off Lake Erie and swarming New York reliever Joba Chamberlain in Game 1 — the Guardians have lost four straight postseason series to the Bronx Bombers.
The Yankees won a winner-take-all Game 5 in a 2017 ALDS, then swept a two-game Wild Card Series during the pandemic-affected 2020 season. The Yankees were victorious in another ALDS Game 5 in 2022, then beat the Guardians in five games in the 2024 ALCS.
Yet, at least outwardly, the Guardians claim that the Yankees are just another opponent and they derive no extra joy from beating them. Gavin Williams, who started and had a no-decision on Monday night, made that sentiment clear when asked if the Yankees’ powerful lineup is difficult to navigate even with reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge and slugger Giancarlo Stanton sidelined by injuries.
“They're big leaguers for a reason,” Williams said. “I mean, I feel like any team is very good top to bottom. Doesn't matter what team it is.”
Yankees, Guardians play drama-filled game
Regardless, the teams played a taut game on Monday night that went to extra innings before Cody Bellinger had the winning hit in the top of the 10th inning with a two-run single to break a 5-all tie.
The Yankees took an early 3-0 lead, and the Guardians answered with three runs in the third inning to tie it. Ryan McMahon hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to put the Yankees in front, but Angel Ramirez countered with a two-run shot in the sixth that gave the Guardians a 5-4 lead. The Yankees tied it with a run in the eighth, then won on Bellinger’s hit in the 10th.
“Every game we played with them has been gritty,” Guardians closer Cade Smith said after pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings. “They're a good team over there. We're a good team here. We play the game the right way. It's going to be a war of attrition to go out there and win. But I mean, that's what we all work for. That's what we spent months and months leading up to this point to be able to be here and go out and compete with that kind of dedication and persistence for however many innings it takes.”
Yet the Yankees prevailed, just as they have so many times over the Guardians during the past two decades. However, Cleveland wasn’t devastated by the loss. Well, the man in the elevator was an exception.
Obviously, they're a very good team. We're a very good team,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It was a fun baseball game. I mean, obviously, you wish you were on the winning side of it, but there was a lot of action in that game. A lot of good plays, a lot of good at-bats. But unfortunately, we didn't come out with the win.”
The teams play again on Tuesday night, then wrap up the season series on Wednesday afternoon. It is easy to envision a postseason matchup between the teams, though, as the Guardians lead the AL Central and the Yankees are in second place in the AL East, three percentage points behind the Tampa Bay Rays.
One Guardians’ person rues the idea of playing the Yankees in October, though.
“That’s the one team we don’t match up with very well. The postseason is when the depth of each team’s lineup really shows. We can’t outslug them, and that makes it tough. We need a big bat in the middle of the order to truly compete with them.”
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