The Yankees strike first in the ALCS with a Game 1 win over the Guardians

The New York Yankees scored first in the ALCS when they defeated the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 1 at their home Yankee Stadium on Monday night.

Juan Soto, who had good numbers early in this game against Guardians starter Alex Cobb, was already 1-1 with a single when he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the third inning to get things going.

Cobb delivered a two-seam fastball high in the zone, and Soto took full advantage, blasting a solo home run into left-center field through the swirling Bronx winds to get on first. It was Soto’s first home run as a Yankee in the postseason.

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New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) celebrates with outfielder Alex Verdugo (24) after scoring a run on a wild pitch in the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium had. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

But that wasn’t the only goal for New York in the game, as Cobb began to lose control of his shots. He passed Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Volpe with two outs scattered in between in front of rookie manager Stephen Vogt in favor of lefty Joey Cantillo.

However, Cantillo had no control of his own stuff and Bo Naylor couldn’t handle it behind the plate as Judge scored on a wild pitch. Then, after striking out Anthony Rizzo, Stanton scored on another wild pitch to make it 3-0.

Meanwhile, Carlos Rodon, who was a workhorse for six innings in his second postseason game, set the tone for New York.

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Rodon’s first game with the Yankees didn’t go as planned, despite a great start against the Kansas City Royals in Game 2, where he shut out the team to set the tone.

However, Rodon spoke of being able to keep his emotions in check after exuding a lot of energy in the loss to Kansas City, and that seemed to work in his favor this time around.

Rodon saw six strong innings for the Yankees, striking out nine and collecting 24 swings-and-misses from Guardians hitters. His only mistake was giving up a fastball too low to Brayan Rocchio, who used it for a solo home run early in the sixth inning.

New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) pitches during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

But the Yankees delivered a few safety runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Judge hit a sacrifice fly to score Gleyber Torres, who weaved his way around the bases after more wild Cantillo pitches.

Finally, Stanton, red hot in the ALDS, was caught at the plate again as he smashed a high fastball into the left field bullpen for a solo home run that made it 5-1.

The Guardians threatened to get back into this game when the Yankees called left-hander Tim Hill out of the bullpen early in the eighth. With runners on second and third with one out each, Steven Kwan had an opposing single that scored Rocchio to make it 5-2.

But manager Aaron Boone saw enough to give his closer Luke Weaver a chance at a five-out. Weaver, completely missed against Kansas City, delivered a strikeout in three pitches to pinch hitter Will Brennan and got the ever-dangerous Jose Ramirez to ground out with runners on the corners to end the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Weaver retired his first batter but slammed the door on Cleveland with three straight strikeouts to end the game.

New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) hits a solo home run in the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

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With Game 1 secured, the Yankees host the Guardians for Game 2 of the ALCS on Tuesday night.

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