Yankees hold off Guardians, 4-2, force Game 5 at Stadium

CLEVELAND — Before this series started, there was debate in public and even within the Yankees if Gerrit Cole should start Game 1 of the American League Division Series. The Game 1 starter is the only one that can come back on regular rest in the crucial potential elimination or clinch games in a best-of-five games series. Sunday night, Cole showed the Bombers made the right decision.

With the Yankees facing elimination, Cole got the Bombers another day. The right hander held off the scrappy Guardians and gave the Bombers beat-up bullpen some rest in the Yankees 4-2 win at Progressive Field.

The Yankees head back to the Bronx for the decisive Game 5 after evening the best-of-five game series at 2-2 with Sunday night’s win. The Bombers plan to start Jameson Taillon at the Stadium for the do-or-go home game. The Yankees improved to 14-9 in potential elimination games in the ALDS and 6-6 in such games on the road.

“Just go out and do what he did to clinch the division against Toronto,” Cole said of Taillon making his first-ever playoff start in the definitive Game 5 Monday night. “That was some good stuff.”

Cole gave the Yankees good stuff Sunday. He held the Guardians to two runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out eight. Most importantly he went seven innings deep, needing 110 pitches to do so.

“When he told me I was going Game 4, like there’s an opportunity to clinch or an opportunity to go home, I didn’t approach the game any [differently],” Cole said. “I just went out there and did my job.”

Cole picked up his 10th career postseason win, joining Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw as the only active pitchers with double-digit playoff wins. He’s racked up 127 postseason strikeouts in 16 playoff games, surpassing Randy Johnson for the most in MLB history in that span.

Guardians’ left fielder Steven Kwan, who reached on a fielder’s choice with one out in the third, scored on Jose Ramirez’ single. Josh Naylor crushed a 98-mile an hour fastball 405 feet to lead off the fourth and cut the Yankees lead to a run.

But unlike in the recent past, Cole didn’t get rattled, he settled in and retired 10 straight before former Mets prospect Andres Gimenez lined a one-out single to center field and advanced to second on a Harrison Bader fielding error. Cole came back and struck out Gabriel Arias looking at a 98-mile an hour fastball and pinch hitter Will Brennan swinging and missing on another fastball at 98.

“Gerrit again, just going out there like… setting the tone, that’s a really important job of the starting pitcher to do. You can do it with pace, you can do it with how effectively you attack the hitters in the strike zone, and he did both of those incredibly well,” said Bader, who also hit his third home run this series Sunday night. “He makes our job on offense and on defense a lot easier when he does that.So to work behind that’s awesome. That’s why he got the ball again in the series and that’s why he’s doing what he’s doing. It is just great to play with him.”

Bader gave Cole a 3-0 lead in the second with his two-run shot. The 429-foot home run was his farthest of the season. With his three homers, Bader tied a franchise record for home runs in his first four playoff games with the Yankees.

Gleyber Torres led off the game with a single. He stole second and scored on Anthony Rizzo’s line drive. Aaron Judge picked up his second hit of the series, beating out a ground ball to second for an infield single. He is 2-for-16 with nine strikeouts in this series. He scored on Giancarlo Stanton’s sacrifice fly in the sixth.

That got the Yankees one more day, now they have to do it again behind Taillon.

“It’s an opportunity. I feel like we have prepared for this moment; playing the AL East, facing the line-ups we have faced, seems like playing in a Yankees uniform in Yankees Stadium every game is a big game,” Taillon said. “We’re ready for it. It is a big opportunity. Props to Gerrit for just pushing the ball forward, getting us back home. You know, we go back with a rested bullpen and I’m ready to go for Game 5.”