The New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are meeting in the postseason for the second time in two years.
New York eliminated Cleveland in the 2022 American League Division Series three games to two. The Yankees have the advantage again with home-field advantage as the AL’s No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season at 94–68.
The Yankees also have history on their side with a record 27 World Series victories under their belt. New York also has some momentum after dispatching the Kansas City Royals three games to one in the ALDS.
However, the Yankees have not been to the World Series since 2009, when they also won their last title against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton has been the Yankees’ most productive player so far in the postseason. He is batting .375 with a home run and four RBIs over four games and 16 at-bats. Stanton is focused on delivering another title to the Bronx.
“We’re here to win,” Stanton said at the postgame press conference following Game 3 against the Royals. “No one wants to be on the losing side of this. ... We need to take care of business.”
Related Stories
The Yankees will be even more formidable if outfielder Aaron Judge can get rolling this postseason. Judge is a candidate for the 2024 American League Most Valuable Player award after batting .322 and leading the league with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs.
However, Judge was two for 13 (.154 average) without a homer or RBI over the four games with the Royals. Judge is poised to break out of the slump against the Guardians.
Judge and teammate Juan Soto are nominees for the Hank Aaron Award, which goes to the best offensive player in each league during the regular season. Soto is having a solid postseason, batting .286 with a double and two RBIs.
Carlos Rodón will start Game 1 against Cleveland and is also looking to bounce back from a rocky start against the Royals. He took the loss in Game 2 after allowing four runs and seven hits over 3.2 innings.
Reigning Cy Young award winner Gerri Cole will start Game 2 and Clarke Schmidt is slated to start the third game against Cleveland.
The Guardians, who finished the regular season with the AL’s second-best record at 92–68, had a tougher time in the ALDS series against their division rival, the Detroit Tigers. The Indians won the series in five games with an emphatic 7–3 victory in the deciding game. Lane Thomas hit a grand slam off Detroit ace Tarik Skubal to help seal the win.
Thomas has been the catalyst for the Guardians throughout the playoffs and leads the team with a .375 average with two homers and nine RBIs over five games.
Cleveland right-hander Alex Cobb will start Game 1 against the Yankees. Cobb took the loss in Game 3 against the Tigers. He allowed two runs and three hits
“It’s a whirlwind,” Cobb said about starting Game 1 against New York. “You don’t have a ton of time to process it but obviously very excited. I never made it this far in the postseason. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the postseason.”
Tanner Bibee, who has a 2.08 ERA with nine strikeouts this postseason, will start Game 2. The Guardians have not named a starter for Game 3.
The Yankees went 4–2 against the Guardians this season.
In the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the first game 9–0 against the New York Mets on Sunday.
