Expect Guardians' bold moves to continue as pressure builds

CLEVELAND — Already, the Cleveland Guardians are operating with a sense of urgency. 

As for their performance on the field? It’s been uncharacteristically sloppy, with five wild pitches in Game 1 and two errors in Game 2. That needs to change if they’re going to come back from an 0-2 ALCS deficit as the series shifts to Cleveland Thursday.

What won’t change is the aggressiveness with which manager Stephen Vogt is approaching the New York Yankees. Though Cleveland lost Game 2, Vogt managed the game boldly and unconventionally, an approach that will have to become even more pronounced starting in Game 3.

“It's who we are,” Vogt said afterwards. “We take chances.”

Vogt’s most noticeable move came in the second inning of Game 2, when the Guardians intentionally walked Juan Soto to face Aaron Judge with the bases loaded in search of a double play. The decision paid off, as Judge hit a sacrifice fly before Austin Wells struck out to end the inning, but the decision showed Vogt’s not afraid of tempting the wrath of the baseball gods as long as there’s reasoning behind his decisions.

As Yankees manager Aaron Boone said: “Sometimes you've got to take a shot that's a little bit unconventional.”

But while the intentional walk to Soto was eye-catching, it was far from the only instance of the Guardians pushing for an advantage early. For instance, with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth inning Tuesday, Vogt pinch hit for catcher Bo Naylor, inserting David Fry into the game.

In the end, Fry popped out and the Guardians didn’t score. Austin Hedges then replaced Fry in Naylor’s lineup spot, meaning the Guardians had burned half of their bench for one pinch hit opportunity. It represented a big risk in search of a bigger reward.

“It was the highest leverage moment of the game,” Vogt said. “We wanted to take our shot right there. We felt that was our biggest opportunity at that point. You don't know when you're going to get three guys on against somebody like Gerrit Cole.”

In contrast to the Guardians, the Yankees have been relatively conservative with their position player group, keeping Wells in the cleanup spot despite a tough finish to the regular season (.411 OPS in September) and an even worse performance in the playoffs (.237 OPS in October). Whether that changes is an open question, but it’s clear that Cleveland will continue pushing for any edge possible — starting with Emmanuel Clase.

To this point in the ALCS, the Guardians haven’t used their closer, but there’s a high likelihood that changes in Game 3 whether Cleveland’s ahead, tied or trailing by a couple runs. At this point in the series, they need to do everything possible to keep the score close, even if that means accepting the possibility that Clase will be fatigued later in the series.

And if the Guardians do call on Clase to pitch in two or perhaps even three of the games in Cleveland this week, expect him to embrace the challenge.

“Somehow my body has adjusted to the rhythm of the season,” he said. “So sometimes when I pitch two, three days in a row, I actually feel more comfortable. I feel like I have more control over my pitches. I know it's kind of counterintuitive, but I feel more comfortable the more I pitch.”

In 74.1 regular season innings, the 26-year-old posted a 0.61 ERA with 47 saves, so if anyone’s capable of containing the Yankees, it’s Clase. It’s also reasonable to expect heavy usage from the Guardians’ other trusted relievers, including Canadian Cade Smith, left-hander Tim Herrin and right-hander Hunter Gaddis.

Because while Thursday isn’t quite an elimination game, it’s the next closest thing. If the Guardians are going to go down, they need to do so with their best arms, a reality not lost on Vogt. Meanwhile, the Yankees have used their bullpen with a similar sense of urgency, using Clay Holmes in every one of their six playoff games while pushing closer Luke Weaver hard. 

“We're going as far as they take us,” said Anthony Rizzo of the New York bullpen. “They’re our dogs. They’re the front liners.”

“They've been worked a lot, but they’re mentally prepared for this.”

Of course even in a game that will feature plenty of relievers, the more quality innings a team can get from its starter, the better. Matthew Boyd will start Game 3 opposite Clarke Schmidt with Cleveland’s plans for Game 4 are still under discussion, according to Vogt.

By the time Game 5 rolls around it’s conceivable that Game 2 starter Tanner Bibee could be asked to pitch on short rest, but the Guardians have to get there first. We’ll find out soon how well their strategy works — we already know it’s going to be aggressive.