Guardians officially have a new Yankees killer to rival Jose Ramirez

The New York Yankees fanbase may not view the Cleveland Guardians as one of their biggest rivals, but they undoubtedly run and hide when Jose Ramirez steps into the batters' box. J-Ram has owned Yankees pitching forever, and the six-time All-Star reminds New York of that fact each and every time the two teams square off.

But another Yankees killer has emerged recently and tossed his hat into the ring. Guardians slugger Kyle Manzardo has carved up Yankees pitching since last October, and the 24-year-old has picked up right where he left off during the first two games of Cleveland's current series against the Bronx Bombers.

Manzardo introduced himself to the Yankees during last year's American League Championship Series, going 5-for-13 (.385) with a home run and a pair of RBI. It's been more of the same during Cleveland's first two wins over New York this season.

Guardians officially have a new Yankees killer to rival Jose Ramirez in Kyle Manzardo

Manzardo has a knack for the big moment. The Guardians DH launched a 3-1 pitch over the fence in right field during Game 3 of the ALCS to put Cleveland in front of New York last October. His two-run shot got the party started, and the Guardians went on to win by a final score of 7-5 in a back-and-forth thriller.

That may have been the Guardians' only victory over the Yankees during the ALCS, but Manzardo showed that he's ready to go toe-to-toe against the big, bad New York pitching staff. It's been more of the same during this series, with Manzardo cranking his seventh home run of the 2025 season during Monday's win. Manzardo's solo shot followed Ramirez's three-run blast, and the two combined to go 3-for-8 on Monday night with five RBI.

The Yankees pitchers kept Ramirez's bat silent on Tuesday, but Manzardo refused to let the Guardians go quiet into the night. He ripped a line drive into right-center field that Aaron Judge severely misplayed. The ball got by the Yankees outfielder and allowed Nolan Jones to tie the game at two runs apiece in the bottom of the sixth. Three batters later, Manzardo scored on an RBI single off the bat of Angel Martinez, and the Guardians went on to win by a final of 3-2.

The Guardians will be looking to break out the brooms at Progressive Field this afternoon, and you can bet your bottom dollar that the 1-2 combination of Ramirez and Manzardo will be looking to continue to assert their dominance over the Yankees.

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