*Photo from the Laredo Morning Times*
Cleveland leads series 2-1
We've seen the legend of Spongebob in Cleveland make another appearance. Steven Kwan drove in a run, Oscar Gonzalez brought in the winning run, and the Cleveland Guardians rallied to defeat the New York Yankees with a 6-5 victory on Saturday night in Cleveland.
Finding themselves down two runs entering the 9th inning, the Guardians put on a show, rallying to score 3 runs and win the first game in Cleveland this series. It's their second straight win after being down 1-0 in the series. The Guardians now find themselves with a 2-1 series lead, one win away from their first ALCS since the 2016 season.
A big reason why the Guardians have been on the run they've been on is because of Gonzalez. The rookie who walks up to the Spongebob theme song has been a key piece to their success, providing his second walk off hit in a week, and also drove in the winning run in game two on Friday.
Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario said after the game that "I was sitting next to Oscar. We talked about if Straw gets a base, we'll get this game turned around. I was telling him we're going to load all the bases and then we're going to win the game. He said, ‘No, no. I'm going to finish the game. I'm going to win the game.'"
Josh Naylor got the Guardians going early in the first inning. He singled to center field, scoring Kwan to make it 1-0 early. In the second inning, Gabriel Arias scored on a single from Kwan, doubling the Guardians lead to 2-0. Aaron Judge hit a two run homer in the 3rd to tie the game, and Oswaldo Cabrera gave the Yankees a 4-2 lead with a two run shot in the 5th inning.
In the 6th inning, Will Brennan came up with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 4-3 when Andres Gimenez scored. Harrison Bader got that run back for the Yankees with a 7th inning solo homer. In the 9th, an RBI single from Rosario cut the deficit to 5-4. That set the stage for Gonzalez, who scored both Kwan and Rosario with his walk off two run single.
Cleveland starter Triston McKenzie said of Gonzalez's heroics that "We’ve seen it in two series so far from this guy. He comes up in the 15th inning and hits a home run, has a game-winning hit in another game, has the hit tonight. There’s a maturity level at the plate you don’t see all the time."
It was McKenzie who drew the start for the Guardians, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits in 5 innings pitched. Sam Hentges came on next, allowing one run in 1 2/3 innings. Enyel De Los Santos pitched the next 1 1/3 innings, with Eli Morgan getting the win with a shutout 9th inning.
Starting for the Yankees was Luis Severino, on the hook for 3 runs on 8 hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. Lou Trivino finished the 6th before Jonathan Loaisiga got two outs in the 7th. Wandy Peralta pitched the next 1 2/3 innings, with Clarke Schmidt getting the loss after giving up the walk off to Gonzalez in the 9th.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the series deficit that "It was a gut-wrenching ending, but we’ve got to get over it. Now we’re obviously up against it, but I still love our chances. We’ve got Gerrit going tomorrow. We’ve got to take care of business and try and get back to New York."
Up next, game 4 of the series is on Sunday night in Cleveland. The Guardians try to secure a spot in the ALCS with Cal Quantrill getting the start. Gerrit Cole starts for the Yankees as they try to force a game 5 back in New York.
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