"That guy is an all-world closer" - Guardians players keep faith in Emannuel Clase after blown save in ALCS Game 3 extends rocky postseason

Cleveland Guardians players offered their support for Emmanuel Clase after the elite closer blew a crucial save opportunity against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS on Thursday. The Guardians were able to come back from that to post a thrilling 7-5 victory and win their first game of the series in front of their fans at Progressive Field.

The Guardians were leading by two runs when Clase was activated from the bullpen in the top of the eighth inning to get the final four outs with the three best Yankees sluggers coming up to the plate. However, he walked Juan Soto on four pitches before giving up three runs on back-to-back home runs to Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, which put the visitors back into the lead.

Nevertheless, the Guardians managed to claw back into the game before clinching a memorable walk-off victory in the 10th inning. Later, Matthew Boyd, their starting pitcher for the game, spoke to reporters about Emannuel Clase's blown save (via SI.com):

"That guy is an all-world closer," Boyd said. "He has the ball every single time with the game on the line, and I'm going to take him over whoever is in the box every single time.

"Our whole club feels the same way. That guy is amazing. What happened after is just who we are as a team. We just keep fighting. Like I said, it's in our DNA, and that's what we hang our hat on," he added.

Emannuel Clase earned his third straight All-Star Game selection and is in the conversation for a Cy Young Award after finishing the season with 47 saves to lead the AL in that category for the third consecutive year. However, he has blown more than half of his five save opportunities in the postseason while surrendering more earned runs during these playoffs than he did in the entire 2024 regular season.

Not enough adjectives to talk about how good Emannuel Clase was this season: David Fry

Emannuel Clase earned 47 saves for the Guardians during the regular season (Image Source: IMAGN)

Despite the blown save on Thursday, the Cleveland Guardians produced a sensational comeback win over the New York Yankees. Rookie outfielder Jhonkensy Noel smashed a solo home run to level the scores with two outs in the ninth inning. Minutes later, designated hitter David Fry secured the win with a two-run homer off Yankees reliever Clay Holmes in the 10th inning.

It was the second walk-off home run of the postseason for Fry after his go-ahead homer in an elimination game against the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series. The Guardians DH also came to Emannuel Clase's defense.

"There's not enough adjectives to talk about how good he was this season," Fry said after the game. "He set records for just about everything you can do as a closer, and sometimes you just hand him the ball, and we don't even watch the game. I feel like we are chatting up because we know the game is over.

"So we were obviously shook, but it was just like, you know what, it's time we give him a break. He carried our team all year long in the ninth inning, and it's our time to pick him up, and I'm glad we did," he added.

The Guardians are in no mood to throw in the towel for Emannuel Clase, even though he is going through one of the most challenging phases of his career so far.

The Guardians will look to even the series in Game 4 at Progressive Field on Friday.