Pressure is on the Cleveland Guardians in ALDS Game 2

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The Cleveland Guardians head into Game 2 of the ALDS in as close to a must-win situation as you can get. While it is not an elimination game, they cannot go back home down 2-0 in the series, knowing they will have to face Yankees ace Gerrit Cole again.

Save for a first-inning fielding error by shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a difficult play up the middle, and a couple base-running gaffes by third baseman Josh Donaldson, the Yankees looked sharp. They played their style of baseball – hitting home runs, playing solid defense, riding their starting pitcher deep into the game and closing it out while avoiding their middle relievers.

The Guardians, meanwhile, looked more like themselves, threatening multiple times early in the game and driving Cole’s pitch count up in the first three innings. How the Guardians respond in Game 2, and whether or not they can break through against Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes will be critical to extending this series.

Here are three things to watch in Game 2 Friday afternoon.

A Look at the Pitching Matchup

If you love great pitching, then you have loved watching the Guardians throughout this postseason. The wild-card series gave us two great pitcher’s duels, including a 15-inning marathon deciding game that ended 1-0. And Cole provided more of the same in the ALDS opener. Expect the great pitching to continue in Game 2 as Cleveland’s Shane Bieber takes on New York’s Cortes.

Bieber will head to the hill fresh off a dominant performance in Game 1 of the wild-card round against the Rays where he earned the win throwing 7 2/3 dominant innings, giving up just one run on three hits and striking out eight. On the season he went 13-8 with a 2.88 ERA and 198 strikeouts in 200 innings pitched. While his velocity has been down somewhat, he seemed to get stronger as the season went on. Now he looks for redemption against the Yankees, who knocked him around in Game 1 of the 2020 wild-card series.

Bieber will face off against Cortes, an All-Star left-hander who varies his delivery, arm slot and timing to keep hitters off-balance. He ended the season 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts. He beat the Guardians twice this year, giving up two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings on April 23, and just one run on three hits in six innings on July 2. The Guardians will need to solve their season-long struggles against left-handed pitching or get to the Yankees bullpen in order to win this game.

How will the weather factor into this series?

With the weather already playing a factor, and Thursday’s game being postponed to Friday, the Guardians and Yankees will now potentially play four games in a row.

If this were to happen, the advantage could swing heavily toward the Guardians’ favor due to the injuries and inconsistency of the Yankees bullpen. Both teams have starters available out of the pen with the Guardians adding Zach Plesac and Cody Morris to the ALDS roster, and the Yankees having Jameson Taillon, who was one of their most consistent starters throughout the second half. However, the Yankees certainly want to avoid using their middle relievers in big situations.

The downside here is that this altered schedule will likely prevent the Guardians from being able to bring ace Shane Bieber back on short rest in a deciding Game 5 on Monday. This would likely mean that Game 1 starter Cal Quantrill, who the Yankees got to for four runs in Game 1, would start the deciding game in Yankee Stadium.

Will mistakes cost either team?

Quantrill’s walks cost the Guardians on Tuesday night in the opener. Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s error and Josh Donaldson’s base-running mishaps nearly cost the Yankees as well. These are two teams that play fundamentally sound baseball, pitch well, and play great defense. The different styles they play on offense both put pressure on the opposing team, though in different ways. Giving additional outs or extra baserunners could be the difference as two of the top pitchers in the American League square off in Game 2.

How the Guardians’ young roster responds to the pressure of being down in the series and on the road in one of the toughest environments in sports remains to be seen. Manager Terry Francona has been through this type of series before, and will have Cleveland as ready as they can be for a crucial Game 2 before they head back home for Game 3.

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A Look at the Pitching Matchup

How will the weather factor into this series?

Will mistakes cost either team?

Schedule