Cleveland, OH
On an October night in Cleveland, the Guardians (and baseball gods) deliver an instant classic
CLEVELAND — The baseball gods work in the shadows, scripting moments and matchups and sequences that we couldn’t begin to fathom.
Take, for instance, the night of June 26, when Matthew Boyd just so happened to flip on a Cleveland Guardians game to gauge the pulse of the team desperate for his services.
That evening, a rookie sculpted like he should be muscling past offensive tackles walloped a home run to center field at Camden Yards in his first career at-bat.
Fast-forward four months. Boyd, with a rejuvenated left elbow, has become Cleveland’s most consistent postseason starter, and he delivered another sterling effort in Game 3 of the ALCS. And that hulking rookie that Boyd has followed from the beginning, Jhonkensy Noel, saved their season with a seismic blast halfway up the left-field bleachers.
Take, for instance, the vantage point of Noel’s father, Rafael. He had never visited the U.S. until October, but he’s along for the Guardians’ ride through October.
Noel and his dad like to talk hitting, but the conversation often sputters when Rafael asks why he did or didn’t offer at a particular pitch. Noel counters by suggesting his dad step in and attempt to whack a 90 mph slider that’s spinning toward his cleats.
Rafael won’t have any constructive criticism about Noel’s moonshot that, with two outs in the ninth, rescued Cleveland from an insurmountable series deficit. Noel said he sought any pitch on the inner part of the plate; an 88 mph changeup over the middle sufficed.
Rafael witnessed a moment Clevelanders won’t forget, as fans chanted the “Big Christmas” nickname manager Stephen Vogt bestowed upon his son. (Noel said he loves the moniker.) This is a city, after all, that will host Ryan Merritt for a ceremonial first pitch before Game 5 on Saturday night. Merritt totaled 31 2/3 innings as a big-leaguer, but he blanked the Blue Jays for four frames in this round in 2016 to land Cleveland an American League pennant. Sometimes, there’s no better vacation spot than Cleveland in October.
Take, for instance, the showdown of a soon-to-be two-time MVP winner versus the closer who registered one of the best relief seasons in the history of the sport. Emmanuel Clase has craved the encounter since he was forced to issue an intentional walk to Aaron Judge at Yankee Stadium in late August. Judge socked a 99 mph cutter to right field for a tying, crowd-silencing home run. The Guardians’ blueprint — Boyd for five innings, an early lead, Cade Smith, Tim Herrin and Hunter Gaddis blazing a trail for a well-rested Clase — burst into flames.
“As a baseball fan, it was really cool,” Vogt said. “As the opposing manager, it was not.”
Three minutes later, Giancarlo Stanton launched a slider over the center-field fence … and that Yankees power display became a footnote in a New York minute.
David Fry, acquired 2 1/2 years ago as a player to be named later, has bloomed into a postseason savant at the plate. He was an All-Star this season, thanks to a torrid first two months that had him jockeying with Judge and Shohei Ohtani atop the OPS leaderboard. But in late June, shortly before Noel arrived, he suffered an elbow injury that the Guardians have kept discreet. Fry stopped playing the field, which has hampered the club’s flexibility (though Fry, who has caught an occasional bullpen session to stay sharp, told The Athletic he could enter on defense in a pinch).
He didn’t hit a home run in June or July, which prompted his dad to regularly text him about how much his elbow must be bothering him.
“I’m like, ‘No, I’m just not hitting well, Dad,’” Fry said.
No one in Cleveland will remember his second-half slump. They’ll toast to his game-winning homer in Detroit that prevented an early exit in the ALDS and to his walk-off shot Thursday night.
“I blacked out,” Fry said. “I remember being like halfway down the first-base line, looking back at the dugout and saying, ‘All right, I just have to make sure I touch all four bases.’”
Once in a while, the baseball gods spoil us with a whole bunch of zaniness in one night, when the swing of emotions prompts your Apple Watch to ask if you’re OK, when fans are muttering “It’s over” one second and “We’re so back” the next, when those on their living-room sofas grab the remote so they can jam their thumb into the power button the instant the 27th out is recorded only to fling the device onto the couch when Noel flung his black-and-white Louisville Slugger into the grass.
This was the baseball gods working overtime to deliver us October goodness, a beautiful blend of tangled storylines and jaw-dropping momentum shifts.
“If there’s an emotion,” Vogt said, “we all felt it on both sides.”
(Top photo of David Fry and the Guardians celebrating his Game 3 walk-off home run: Lauren Leigh Bacho / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Crowds gathered along the Lake Erie shoreline Saturday morning to welcome the USS Cleveland as it arrived in its namesake city.
The Freedom Class littoral ship will be historically commissioned in Cleveland on May 16 during its weeklong stay, after which it will officially join active service in the U.S. Navy.
The arrival of the ship is a milestone for Ohio and the nation, marking the first time in the 250-year history of the United States that a U.S. Navy warship will be commissioned in the State of Ohio.
“There have been 81 ships in the history of the U.S. Navy that have been named after cities in Ohio or the state of Ohio itself, but out of all 81, this is the first that will be commissioned in its namesake city, so this is an incredibly historic moment and it’s fitting that it’s happening for the 250th anniversary of the Navy and our nation,” USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation Director Nick Lippert said.
Ahead of the commissioning ceremony next weekend, the public is invited to tour the ship starting Sunday, May 10, at the North Coast Yard. The USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation is hosting a “Community Day” Sunday that will include live entertainment, family-friendly activities, food, drinks and more.
“This special event will connect the crew with the community of Northeast Ohio for a day of excitement and celebration as residents will have the opportunity to meet the Sailors, learn more about the ship and our Foundation, and kickoff Commissioning Week in true Cleveland fashion,” the USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation website reads.
Tours will be available through Thursday, May 14.
Click HERE For more information about the tours and the weeklong celebration.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – For the second day, Northeast Ohio school districts are receiving bomb threats.
On Friday morning, two schools in the Elyria City School District, the high school and Ely Elementary, received bomb threats.
Both schools are evacuating students, and emergency responders are on the way, according to a social media post.
All other district schools are in a lockout status as a precaution.
The district asks that family members not come to the schools or call school offices at this time so emergency communication lines remain available.
Elyria Police said that the department is working with the district to ensure the safety and security of students and school personnel following the threats.
“We are aware that neighboring school districts experienced similar swatting-related incidents yesterday, and our investigative personnel are working diligently with our law enforcement partners to identify the source of these threats,” police said.
Five Northeast Ohio school districts received bomb threats on Thursday, including:
- Alliance City School District
- Amherst Exempted Village Schools
- Cleveland Metropolitan School District
- Lorain City School District
- Shaker Heights School District
Below are the details from each district and the protocols in place to protect students and staff.
ALLIANCE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Alliance Police Department confirmed there was an ’anonymous’ robo-voice style call that came into the high school saying there were ’20 pipe bombs’ outside of the school” before 12:30 p.m.
Officers rushed to the high school and Rockhill Elementary School campuses “due to an alarm in which we were not getting a response from the school,” according to APD.
APD shared that the schools evacuated the students temporarily as officers conducted a sweep of the area.
“Nothing was found, thankfully,” APD Lt. Christopher McCord stated. “The school staff, and especially the students, did a great job of staying calm and making everyone’s jobs easier, smoother, and safer.”
“We will be looking into the source of the threats to hold those responsible accountable, if possible,” McCord added.
AMHERST EXEMPTED VILLAGE SCHOOLS
The Amherst Exempted Village School confirmed at 10:25 a.m. that Marion L. Steele High School and Walter G. Nord Middle School received a bomb threat.
AEVS said all district facilities were placed on a level 1 lockdown before the two schools were evacuated to a safe location under the supervision of administration and staff, according to district protocol.
The Amherst police and fire departments teamed up with the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office to perform perimeter and building sweeps to determine if the threat was substantiated, said AEVS.
The perimeter sweeps of the two schools were complete by 11:34 a.m., and law enforcement then conducted the interior sweeps of the buildings, AEVS explained.
Amherst Junior High School and Powers Elementary School lifted their lockdowns at that time and resumed normal procedures, according to AEVS.
AEVS also confirmed at that time that all students and staff were accounted for and safe.
The Amherst Police Department completed its sweep of Steele High School and cleared the building of any threat by 11:51 a.m., AEVS updated.
Students were dismissed for the day at that time, according to AEVS.
AEVS instructed student drivers to leave the campus, and students unable to immediately leave were to stay at the school until they could be picked up by a parent, guardian, or approved emergency contact.
The bus routes were running at the scheduled normal dismissal time for students who need a ride home, AEVS added.
APD completed its sweep of Nord School and cleared the building of any threat by 12:32 p.m., AEVS updated.
Nord School students were safely escorted back into the building, according to AEVS, after evacuating to the New Beginning Church as a safe location.
AEVS instructed parents, guardians, and approved emergency contacts who wanted to pick up their student to report to the school’s front entrance, where staff and APD officers would help.
Classes, activities, and normal dismissal procedures resumed as scheduled for students who stayed at the school, AEVS shared, and bus dismissal also proceeded per usual.
“We appreciate the cooperation, patience, and support of our families and community throughout today’s situation,” AEVS stated.
According to AEVS Superintendent Mike Molnar, all evening activities at the school will continue as scheduled, and school will resume on Friday.
Molnar added that AEVS will have an increased police presence at schools on Thursday night and Friday.
CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District confirmed two threats were received on Thursday morning. The threats were against East Tech High School and Buhrer Dual Language Academy.
According to CMSD, Cleveland police and CMSD’s Department of Safety & Security conducted an investigation and found the buildings to be safe.
From the information gathered during the searches, Cleveland police believe both calls were swatting incidents.
Classes at both schools were uninterrupted, and the school day progressed normally.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Communications Officer Jon Benedict added that parents were informed about the incident.
LORAIN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Lorain City School District confirmed the high school has been evacuated due to a bomb threat on Thursday afternoon.
This is the third Northeast Ohio school district to receive a bomb threat on May 7.
The district announced the evacuation of Lorain High School at 12:23 p.m., and dismissed students at 12:40 p.m.
Bus riders were escorted to the buses waiting to take them home, according to LCSD.
LCSD said many elementary and middle school students were at the high school for the dance showcase.
Those elementary and middle school students were brought back to their home schools, said LCSD.
All students and staff are safe and following established protocols, LCSD stated, and these measures are being taken out of an abundance of caution.
The district safety team and law enforcement partners continue to investigate this threat.
“Your students’ and our staff’s safety is our top priority,” LCSD stated.
A 19 News crew is on their way to the scene to learn more.
SHAKER HEIGHTS SCHOOL DISTRICT
Shaker Heights High School received its second threatening phone call this week on Thursday, the district confirmed.
Shaker Heights School District said it immediately teamed up with the Shaker Heights Police Department to investigate the threat and determined its credibility.
SHSD said it was aware of the other Northeast Ohio school districts that received similar threats on Thursday.
“Based on the SHPD’s assessment and established safety protocols, the decision was made to continue normal school operations rather than initiate a shelter-in-place,” SHSD stated.
Additional SHPD officers and a K-9 unit were sent to the school out of an abundance of caution to support the safety and security of the building as the investigation continues, SHSD added.
Orrville City Schools were also placed on a soft lockdown on Thursday.
However, this was not a bomb threat, nor any direct threat to the school.
The soft lockdown was a precautionary measure for an incident that happened not just off school property, but out of the town.
This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
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