Jhonkensy Noel, David Fry rally Guardians to epic victory in ALCS Game 3

CLEVELAND — For the first seven innings of ALCS Game 3 between the Yankees and Guardians, Cleveland’s tried-and-true method for victory was proceeding as planned.

After Alex Cobb and Tanner Bibee combined to complete four innings as the Guardians’ starting pitchers for Games 1 and 2, veteran lefty Matthew Boyd delivered five solid frames, limiting New York to just one run on two hits. In the bottom of the third, rookie Kyle Manzardo supplied the Guardians their first lead of the series, blasting a two-run homer off Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt to make it 2-1. The Guardians tacked on another run in the sixth against the under-used underbelly of the Yankees bullpen.

For seven innings, little about the affair felt unfamiliar. Sure, there were some unusual moments along the way — Jose Trevino’s first RBI since Sept. 3, Austin Hedges recording an extra-base hit, some Jon Berti defensive adventures at first base — but Cleveland entered the final stages of Game 3 in a position it held so many times over the past six months: with a narrow lead and four of baseball’s best relievers ready to roll. Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and, of course, Emmanuel Clase would be dispatched by manager Stephen Vogt in some order to secure the game’s final 12 outs.

First came Smith to face Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in the sixth. It took 10 pitches for the remarkable rookie to dispose of one of the most imposing hearts of the order constructed in recent baseball memory. Nine outs to go.

The lefty Herrin followed and worked around some traffic for a scoreless seventh. Six outs to go.

In came Gaddis for the eighth. The mountain man of a right-hander struck out Austin Wells and got Gleyber Torres to ground out. Four outs to go, with Soto striding to the plate.

It was at this point that Game 3 ceased resembling anything remotely routine. For the next 75 minutes — from the moment Soto stepped into the box with two outs in the eighth until David Fry won the game 7-5 with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning — chaos reigned.

Gaddis sprayed four pitches nowhere near the zone, and Soto took his base. Up came Judge as the tying run, and in came Clase for the four-out save. It was 10 days earlier on this same mound that Clase had faltered in stunning fashion, allowing a go-ahead home run to Detroit’s Kerry Carpenter in an ALDS Game 2 loss. Clase and Cleveland rallied from that rare misstep, with the closer collecting two more saves en route to a comeback series victory.

This, though, was the matchup the baseball world had been anticipating for months. Baseball’s best closer vs. baseball’s best hitter with the game on the line. After Clase didn’t appear in the first two games of the ALCS, it was the ideal scenario for him to make his mark on the series — or for Judge to play Superman.

Clase attacked with his unrivaled cutter at 99 mph, forcing Judge into a quick 0-2 hole. A third cutter missed outside for ball one. A fourth was placed more precisely, this time on the outer half of the strike zone.

It is a pitch with such vicious movement and pinpoint location that it’s practically impossible for a right-handed hitter to pull the ball. Going the other way is just about the only option, particularly with two strikes. Maybe the batter can foul one off and wait for a more hittable pitch or a more favorable count. Maybe a ball is put in play and sneaks through the right side for a single.

Or maybe it’s Aaron Judge, and a picturesque swing produces a low-flying laser beam that sneaks over the right-field wall for a game-tying home run. Such was the case Thursday, leaving the Progressive Field crowd in a state of utter disbelief for the second time in less than two weeks.

Visibly rattled yet with work left to do, Clase summited the mound to try again for the third out of the inning. The game was still tied, after all, and now Stanton stood before him.

A seven-pitch battle ensued, with Clase’s command wavering with every pitch. And just as he had against Carpenter, Clase eventually hung a slider at the worst possible time. Stanton smashed it over the center-field fence, and the Yankees had the lead.

The Cleveland plan that was firmly on track had gone up in flames. Clase had improbably imploded again. The Yankees’ two titanic sluggers had blasted back-to-back homers under the most unfathomable of circumstances, and it was suddenly New York that was six outs away from a commanding 3-0 series lead.

And so, after the Guardians mustered a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the eighth, it was Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s turn to ask his closer for a four-out save. Unlike Clase, who arrived to October with a multi-year track record of late-inning excellence, New York’s preferred game-ender — Luke Weaver, a 31-year-old who had a 5.14 ERA across his first eight big-league seasons as primarily a starting pitcher — has a much shorter history of high-leverage success. Still, he has been tremendous since inheriting the closer role from Clay Holmes in September, and Boone has used him in every game in October thus far, to great effect.

Once again, Weaver answered the call, ending the Cleveland threat by striking out David Fry on four pitches.

Afforded an additional run of insurance in the top of the ninth, Weaver returned to the mound in the bottom of the frame to face the heart of Cleveland’s order. A rally seemingly sparked by a hard grounder from José Ramírez that slipped under the glove of first baseman Anthony Rizzo was quashed when Josh Naylor grounded into a double play. Lane Thomas then fell into an 0-2 hole, leaving Weaver one strike away from locking down an incredible win for the Yankees.

It was one strike too many. Three balls followed, nowhere near the strike zone. Thomas, having already delivered two memorable swings to propel Cleveland to this point, sent another ball soaring toward the 19-foot wall in left field. This one did not quite clear it; it clanged off the top of the video board and into Judge’s grasp. Thomas settled for a double.

With Cleveland still down two runs, it was Jhonkensy Noel’s turn to play hero.

For two months after he was called up at the end of June, Noel’s thunderous, right-handed swing wreaked havoc on opposing pitchers. He hit 13 home runs in his first 45 career games, rapidly becoming a fan favorite. But the man they call “Big Christmas” had gone ice-cold down the stretch. He hadn’t homered since Aug. 30 and was 1-15 in October.

Yet the threat of Noel’s massive raw power never dissipated. It has remained lurking during each and every at-bat, despite the poor results. It was not a matter of if we would see his spectacular strength on display again, merely when.

The hulking, 23-year-old rookie with the infectious smile and the downright delightful nickname was called upon to pinch-hit. There was no secret to the strategy.

As Vogt said after the game: “He pinch-hit to hit a homer. That’s why we sent him up there.”

That’s exactly what he did. On the second pitch from Weaver, a horribly located changeup in the certified nitro zone, Noel delivered the swing of his life. In an instant — long before the ball came crashing down into a delirious sea of Guardians fans in the left-field bleachers — everyone in the venue knew what had just happened. And the sound that followed, a roar possible only in big-league ballparks at this time of year, reflected that reality.

Mayhem. Madness. Big Christmas. Tie ball game.

It was a breathtaking two innings, and somehow, the show had to go on. Weaver struck out Andrés Giménez, and to extra innings it went.

Cleveland’s eighth and final pitcher of the evening was right-hander Pedro Avila. Acquired from San Diego for cash back in April, Avila had filled the role of low-leverage long relief all season. Though not included on the ALDS roster, Avila was added for this round and delivered 2 2/3 hitless innings in Cleveland’s Game 1 loss. He has become a beloved figure in the Guardians’ clubhouse, albeit not necessarily one expected to pitch in the highest-leverage moment of the season thus far.

Before Thursday’s game, several Guardians players were wearing freshly printed shirts celebrating their teammate, with a cartoon representation of Avila adorned by a bold graphic caption: “INNING EATER.” Last round, while not on the roster, Avila was one of the most active cheerleaders in the Cleveland dugout. Now here he was, thrust into a high-stakes scenario out of necessity. His first assignment: that Judge fella.

Not to worry: The soon-to-be MVP swung through a changeup and slider before watching a sinker for strike three. Easy enough!

Stanton followed with a walk, bringing up Jazz Chisholm Jr. with one out. Chisholm chopped one to the right side past the first baseman Naylor, forcing Gimenez to range exceptionally far to his left in an effort to corral the ball. He snagged it just before it bounced into right field and uncorked a sensational, spinning throw to first that Naylor was able to acrobatically snare while keeping his foot on the base to ensure the second out.

It was the latest addition to an expanding highlight reel for Gimenez, who might soon collect his third Gold Glove Award:

“Andrés Giménez is the best infielder on the planet,” Vogt said afterward. “He makes plays that make us wow every single day, it seems like. For him to even get to that ball, spin and throw a very good runner out, and for Naylor to make an in-between hop pick as he’s falling over fully stretched — that is just unbelievable defense by both of them. But what Andrés does night in and night out is so much fun to watch. We are spoiled to watch him play second base every day.”

After an intentional walk to Anthony Rizzo, Avila punched out Anthony Volpe with a wicked changeup to keep the game tied heading to the bottom of the 10th.

With Weaver taxed, Boone was forced to turn to Holmes to try to extend the game. Bo Naylor, who had not recorded a hit since Sept. 25, did not wait around for Holmes to get settled. He lashed Holmes’ first pitch into right field for a leadoff single. Brayan Rocchio then bunted Naylor to second, bringing up Steven Kwan with a runner in scoring position. But Kwan tapped one back to the pitcher, and Holmes snared it for the second out.

It was then up to Fry, one of the heroes for Cleveland against the Tigers but also the hitter who looked downright foolish in his previous at-bat against Weaver. Fry saw four sinkers from Holmes, with each one getting closer to a place in the strike zone where he could do damage.

Holmes’ struggles this year have been well-documented, but they have predominantly been rooted in wildness and untimely base hits. Homers have been few and far between. But Holmes’ fourth pitch to Fry was a touch too homer-friendly. Fry tracked and timed the sinker brilliantly, connecting cleanly with the center-cut offering and sending it high into the Cleveland night sky, its eventual destination the left-field bleachers.

Game. Over.

That the Guardians rallied late to steal a win might not have been a shock on its own; no American League team authored more comeback victories in the regular season. And it is that context that prompts Guardians players and coaches to offer postgame sentiments about the team’s renowned resilience and how they’re not surprised when they end up on the winning end of a thriller of this ilk.

But for as many come-from-behind wins as this team racked up the course of the year, the relentless nature with which Game 3 swerved over the final hour of play made for an especially wild ride for those watching in the dugout.

“It’s a different feeling, for sure,” Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee told Yahoo Sports after the game. “So back and forth. I mean, the momentum swung probably as far our way as you could, then as far their way [as it could], then back to our way. And that’s just baseball. That’s our kind of baseball.”

When asked about the biggest moments that swung the game, Bibee could only offer a lengthy list:

“Every single homer that was hit. Manzo’s … that was hours ago, Judge’s was unbelievable, Stanton’s was ‘holy s***.’ Lane’s double was ‘holy s***.’ Jhonkensy … Gimenez’s play, [Naylor]’s stretch — which I feel like will go unnoticed, but it shouldn’t. Bo’s ambush leadoff base hit was like, ‘holy s***, we got a shot here.’

“All that led up to [Fry’s homer] is gonna go unnoticed, and it shouldn’t.”

In the Guardians clubhouse postgame, the usual EDM beats thumped as a handful of players lingered about. Some scrolled on their phones. A quartet of teammates enjoyed a casual game of cards. Others chowed down on dinner. It was as if the final few innings had unfolded as originally expected, with little drama or heroics required. The collective demeanor reflected that of a victory the Guardians had secured countless times, rather than a singular, seismic experience that will be breathlessly recounted for years to come, an October triumph for the ages.

After a game that sent those in the seats into mass hysterics and left those in the press box in absolute shambles, seeing the players who produced such a classic contest fall into their traditional postgame routines was both difficult to comprehend and entirely understandable. These players, on both teams, have no choice but to turn the page. Unless your team has played its final game and been eliminated or is raising the Commissioner’s Trophy after winning it all, there is simply no time to bathe in the beauty of any single enthralling victory or wallow in the despair of an especially devastating defeat. It’s on to the next one. In this case, that’s 8:08 p.m. on Friday, right back at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

The beauty — and absurdity — of this sport is that these two teams will show up on Friday and play again, as if the events of Thursday night don’t require far more time to process. As soon as the first pitch of Game 4 is thrown, the feelings of Game 3 will fade for the players on the field, as a new task of utmost importance stands before them.

For the Yankees, Game 4 represents an opportunity to take one more step toward the World Series appearance the franchise has been craving for 15 years. As brutal as the outcome of Game 3 was, New York remains in an enviable position, up 2-1 in this best-of-seven.

The Guardians, meanwhile, have a chance to even the series and transform a best-of-seven into a best-of-three just 48 hours after the odds were firmly stacked against them. Game 3 will be reminisced about in living rooms and sports bars across Northeast Ohio for years to come, but its true magnitude within the story of the 2024 Guardians is far from determined.

Perhaps it will merely be a fantastic footnote in another campaign that came up short; perhaps it will be something much, much more.