3 Cleveland Guardians to blame for crushing ALCS loss to Yankees

The Cleveland Guardians had an outstanding season, all things considered. Sadly, it ended on Saturday night in Cleveland.

The New York Yankees once again overpowered their ALCS opponent. Two huge jacks proved to be the difference in the 10-inning game. The Guardians fought valiantly to keep their season alive but they couldn’t quite get there.

Even if the overall vibes from this season were positive, there are still fingers that can be pointed for it ending the way it did. Let’s look at the players and coaches most to blame for the loss.

The Guardians couldn’t have asked Tanner Bibee for much more through five innings. The 25-year-old starter had a shaky start, loading the bases in the first inning. He got out of that one unscathed though and went the rest of the way practically perfect.

Unfortunately, his stellar outing was undone by one meatball of a pitch, which Giancarlo Stanton predictably launched into the stratosphere to tie the game at 2-2 in the sixth inning. It was an unfortunate moment, but one that was potentially avoidable.

To put it simply, Stephen Vogt hung his young pitcher out to dry instead of protecting him from one of the hottest batters in the postseason. It was clear Bibee was starting to wane when he came back out for the sixth. He gave up two singles to start the inning. It was risky enough to let him face Aaron Judge. Letting him go up against Stanton was clearly a mistake.

Stanton had hit a home run in three of the four previous ALCS games. After inducing a double-play from Judge, Bibee needed one out. Intentionally walking Soto was an option there. Turning to the bullpen before the lead was erased was also on the table. Vogt didn’t make the decision that needed to be made and the Guardians paid for it.

Hunter Gaddis had a 1.57 ERA in the regular season. He had an ERA of 11.57 in his first three ALCS appearances. And in Game 5, he threw the pitch that effectively ended Cleveland’s season.

Neither Gaddis nor Emmanuel Clase were at their best in the ALCS. But after back-to-back rough outings, Clase did his job, getting out of the ninth inning with no runs allowed. If Gaddis had done the same in the 10th, the Guardians would have had a chance.

To be fair to the reliever, Gaddis did enough to get three outs. An error (don’t worry, that’s coming up) extended the inning. So he got dealt a bad hand.

Having said that, he still tempted fate by throwing a fastball over the plate on a 1-2 count. Soto is not the kind of hitter you should test like that. The batter won the battle by fouling off pitch after pitch, inviting the pitcher to take a risk. Gaddis reaped what he sowed there.

In three of Cleveland’s four NLCS losses, Brayan Rocchio committed an error. Saturday’s might have been his worst.

The shortstop couldn’t wrangle a toss to second base, presumably getting ahead of himself trying to turn a double play.

By dropping the ball, he let both runners make it to their bases safety and denied the Guardians a second out in the top of the 10th inning. What happened next? Disaster.

Gaddis got Gleyber Torres out swinging, but the error gave Juan Soto a chance to come to the plate. He, of course, blasted the game-winning home run.

Rocchio is supposed to give Cleveland high-level defense. Yet he was responsible for the majority of the Guardians’ most critical blunders in the ALCS. If he catches that ball and sticks his foot on the bag, Soto never has the chance to knock in those three runs. And the Guardians have a chance to keep their season alive.