Aaron Judge finally homers as Yankees take 2-0 ALCS lead over Guardians

NEW YORK – With the Yankees looking to take a 2-0 ALCS lead over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday, Gerrit Cole lacked his best stuff for the second time this postseason.

While the ace twirled a dominant clincher in Game 4 of the ALDS, he also allowed four runs (three earned) over five innings in Game 1 of that series against the Kansas City Royals. The Yankees, however, won that night.

They did the same Tuesday, beating Cleveland 6-3 despite another disappointing outing from Cole.

The reigning Cy Young winner only lasted 4⅓ innings at Yankee Stadium, totaling six hits, two earned runs, four walks, four strikeouts and 89 pitches. Cole became more erratic as the game went on, repeatedly loading the bases over his last two innings.

While Cole left the bags juiced in the fourth, he wasn’t as lucky with the Yankees leading 3-0 in the fifth, as he found himself in another bases-loaded jam after two singles and a walk. A Josh Naylor sac fly got the Guardians their first run, and Cole later walked Lane Thomas to fill the bases again. That ended his night.

Clay Holmes then induced a fielder’s choice from Will Brennan, which scored a run. Holmes stopped the damage there, though, getting Austin Hedges to strike out. Austin Wells deserved credit as well, as his right elbow blocked a Holmes sweeper with the bases loaded.

While Cole did not rise to the occasion, another Yankees superstar did.

Aaron Judge, the regular-season home run champ, finally crushed his first of the playoffs in the seventh inning. The two-run shot off Hunter Gaddis landed in between the Yankees’ bullpen and Monument Park. It also earned Judge “MVP” chants from a crowd that had long been waiting for such a result.

Judge couldn’t help but smile as he rounded first base after connecting on the homer. He had not homered in the postseason since the 2022 ALDS, also against Cleveland, and he was 2 for 15 (.133) this October entering Game 2.

Earlier in the game, the Yankees scored their first run of the windy night when Judge skied a popup with runners on the corners and nobody out. The play would have been routine under normal conditions, but shortstop Brayan Rocchio dropped the ball and knocked it into right field, allowing Gleyber Torres to score after he led things off with a double.

The Bombers scored two more runs in the second inning. The first came on Alex Verdugo’s RBI double. The other came on a Judge sac fly, which followed an intentional walk to Juan Soto that loaded the bases.

The Yankees’ dugout, wide-eyed and shocked, couldn’t believe Cleveland walked Soto to get to Judge. But the slugger only inflicted minimal damage before coming through several innings later.

The Yankees also scored a run in the sixth when Anthony Rizzo added an RBI double. He got picked off to end the inning, though. Rizzo wasn’t the only one caught napping that inning, as Jazz Chisholm also got picked off after a leadoff double.

While the Yankees wasted a few opportunities with bad baserunning and untimely hitting – they went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on – and didn’t get much from Cole, Cleveland also failed to capitalize.

The Guardians went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. While José Ramírez hit a solo homer off Luke Weaver in the ninth, Cleveland’s poor offensive showing helped the Yankees to another postseason victory without an optimal performance.

With the Yankees two wins away from their first World Series appearance since 2009, the ALCS will take a break on Wednesday before resuming in Cleveland on Thursday.

Clarke Schmidt will start Game 3 for the Yankees.

The right-hander was fine in his first postseason start, as he allowed two earned runs over 4⅔ innings against the Royals in Game 3 of the ALDS.