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The Cleveland Guardians find their back against the wall on Saturday. Trailing the New York Yankees 3-1 in the ALCS following their 8-6 loss on Friday night, Cleveland will battle to avoid its second straight postseason elimination at the hands of the Yankees.
On Friday, a three-run homer by Giancarlo Stanton put the Yankees up 6-2 in the sixth inning. However, RBI doubles from Josh Naylor and Jose Ramirez set the stage for an Anthony Rizzo error to tie the game. However, thanks to an error and a Gleyber Torres RBI single in the ninth, New York prevailed 8-6. Game 5 is scheduled for 8:08 pm EDT on Saturday.
"Gleyber Torres adds another in the 9th" - MLB
Yankees vs Guardians recent form and records
The Yankees' 94 wins in the regular season were the most in the AL, which allowed them to win the AL East with a three-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles. Now 6-2 in the 2024 postseason, New York is looking to make its first World Series since its victory in 2009.
The Cleveland Guardians won the AL Central with a 6.5-game lead over the Kansas City Royals in their division, and beat the Tigers in five games in the ALDS. Although the team will need to win the next three games, it is still hopeful about making the Fall Classic for the first time since 2016.
Players to Watch
Starting Pitchers
NYY: Carlos Rodon (16-9. 3.96 ERA) CLE: Tanner Bibee (12-8, 3.47 ERA)
Rodon had a 1.223 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9 and 195 K in 175 IP.
Last Start: Win, 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K vs CLE
Career vs CLE: 8-5 2.81 ERA (125 IP, 39 ER) 10 HR in 21 games
Bibee had a 1.117 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9 and 187 K in 173.2 IP.
Last Start: Loss, 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K vs NYY
Career vs NYY: 0-0 3.38 ERA (5.1 IP, 2 ER) 1 HR in 1 game
Must-Watch Hitters
New York
On Friday, Giancarlo Stanton hammered his team-best fourth home run of the 2024 postseason. A former NL MVP during his time with the Miami Marlins, Stanton's 1.167 OPS this October also leads his team, and the DH maintains a career .667 slugging percentage in the playoffs.
"Pitch to Giancarlo Stanton at your peril." - Jeff Passan
Juan Soto also hit a solo shot in Friday's win. Already a World Series winner, Soto has posted a 1.158 OPS so far in the ALCS. A career .268 hitter against the Guardians, Soto has four homers and eight RBIs in 13 career Conference Series games.
The hero of the late stages of Game 4, Gleyber Torres' RBI single served as crucial insurance on Friday. A .353 hitter so far in the ALCS, Torres has reached base safely in each of his last six games.
Cleveland
After going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in Game 3, first baseman Josh Naylor redeemed himself with three RBIs in Game 4, including an RBI double. A career .250 postseason hitter, Naylor's team will be looking for more offense from the 32-home run hitter.
"JOSH NAYLOR BRINGS THE @CLEGUARDIANS WITHIN ONE" - MLB
A hero of Game 3, Jhonkensy Noel's OPS of 1.850 leads his club. Though 'Big Christmas' has only appeared in three games thus far for his team in the postseason, Noel clobbered 13 homers and logged a .774 OPS in 67 games this season, suggestive of some nascent power.
Yankees vs Guardians baseball betting odds
Yankees vs Guardians expert picks and game prediction
Although Cleveland has indeed displayed some flashes of brilliance in the series, they have found it abidingly difficult to out-score the Yankees.
Although Cleveland has logged three more runs than New York in the four games, the Yankees have outscored Cleveland by six, and have almost doubled their opponents in home runs.
Carlos Rodon has impressive numbers against the Guardians, and put forth six innings of one-run ball earlier in the series. Meanwhile, Tanner Bibee is virtually untested against the Bronx Bombers.
For Cleveland, their AL-best 50 home wins were driven by crowd support, which has been evident thus far in the series. Expect Cleveland to drive a close game, but ultimately live another day on account of the rabid sea of support expected tonight at Progressive Field.
Run Line: +1.5 -175
Total Runs: U 7.5 -120
Prediction: Cleveland W, 4-2
