The New York Yankees lost a heartbreaker to the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night. The Guardians came back from two runs down in the ninth inning to win the game 6-5 and take the series advantage at 2-1. The Yankees now face elimination with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday night.
Myles Straw and Steven Kwan singled to get the inning started for the Guardians in the ninth. Straw singled and scored against Eddie Rosario, while Jose Ramirez reached on an infield single to load the bases. Oscar Gonzalez provided the game-winning single, scoring against Rosario.
New York Yankees fans were furious with the loss. They couldn't believe that their bullpen gave up three runs in the ninth inning. They believe the series will come to an end on Sunday.
"We won't be watching tomorrow," one fan said.
"Season over," said another.
It's understandable that fans have lost faith in the team after Saturday's performance. They can't believe that the Yankees are struggling to score runs with the kind of offensive firepower they have.
With Gerrit Cole starting the game on Sunday, fans are hoping he pitches the best game of his entire career. It won't look good for the organization if they are eliminated by a team who came out of the AL Central.
New York Yankees need to get their bats going
Aaron Judge finally ended his postseason slump with a no-doubt home run in the third inning off Triston McKenzie. He went 1-4 in Saturday's game, breaking his 0-8 slump during the first two games.
Harrison Bader and Oswaldo Cabrera hit home runs alongside Judge but it just wasn't enough. New York had a hard time extending the innings.
Gerrit Cole is the expected starter for the New York Yankees on Sunday. He started in Game 1 and held the Guardians to one run in a 4-1 win. He dominated Cleveland with eight strikeouts on four hits in 6.1 innings pitched. He'll need to mirror that start if he hopes to keep New York's season alive.
The Guardians are expected to throw their Game 1 starter as well. Cal Quantrill pitched five innings, giving up four runs.
The Yankees will need to get their entire lineup involved in Game 4 if they want to even up the series.