Jhonkensy Noel saved Cleveland’s season, and David Fry helped extend it.
With two key swings, the Guardians fought back against the powerful New York Yankees and brought new life to the AL Championship Series, which seemed nearly over.
Noel hit a two-run pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning, and Fry followed with a two-run shot in the 10th, leading Cleveland to a 7-5 victory on Thursday night in a memorable Game 3. This win put the Guardians at 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Cleveland’s surprising season, which included 92 wins and the AL Central title, was on the line after Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer off All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase, and Giancarlo Stanton added a solo homer in the eighth, giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead.
But Noel, a strong outfielder nicknamed Big Christmas, delivered an October surprise, and Fry contributed with his second important homer in the playoffs.
“That’s exactly who we are,” said first-year Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. “We never quit. We got hit hard in the eighth, and our guys stepped up huge for the guy that carried us all year long. That was really fun to see.”
The game was exhausting, thrilling, and dramatic as both teams packed a season’s worth of highlights into just three innings.
“That was playoff baseball,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Both sides just kept coming with big moments off two really good bullpens. They outlasted us. They had one more good swing than us. That’s part of it. We’ll be ready to roll tomorrow.”
The Guardians were down 5-3, with no runners on base in the ninth and close to falling behind 3-0 in the series when Lane Thomas doubled against Luke Weaver, who had been perfect in eight save chances since becoming the Yankees’ closer in September. Then Noel hit his towering homer.
As he rounded the bases, fans at Progressive Field celebrated, dancing in their seats and in the aisles, reminiscent of Rajai Davis’ tying homer off Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning of the 2016 World Series Game 7.
It was fitting that Davis, who now works for Major League Baseball, was there to witness Noel’s homer, which is now part of Cleveland’s history alongside his own.
“We’re a team that doesn’t quit,” Noel, who had struggled with 1 hit in 15 at-bats in the playoffs, said through an interpreter. “We play all 27 outs, so that’s what happened today.” Fry joked that Noel’s homer was both amazing and expected.
“It was incredible,” he said about the reaction in Cleveland’s dugout. “There was so much excitement, but then it was like, oh, of course Jhonkensy hit a game-tying homer against a guy throwing 98 mph.” Fry’s swing ended an instant classic.
Bo Naylor singled to start the 10th inning against Clay Holmes, and Brayan Rocchio bunted him over. Naylor moved to third on Steven Kwan’s groundout before Fry, who had hit a crucial homer in Game 4 of the Division Series at Detroit, sent a 1-2 sinker into the left-field bleachers.
Fry watched the ball go into the stands before heading to first base. He was swarmed by teammates after touching home plate, while fans threw drinks in the air, trying to process the wild emotions they had experienced.
“I blacked out,” Fry said. “I remember being halfway down the first baseline, looking back at the dugout and thinking, alright, I just have to touch all four bases and get home to celebrate.”
“Nobody does that. Like Vogter said before the game, it’s like, here you go, big boy, hit a two-run homer, and he did. It’s so cool.” Cleveland can tie the series with a win on Friday.
The Guardians still have a chance to break baseball’s longest World Series drought, which has lasted since 1948.
Judge hit a homer in Game 2, but he was batting only .143 (3 of 21) with eight strikeouts this October before facing Clase, the AL’s saves leader and one of MLB’s toughest relievers.
After going behind 1-2 in the count, Judge, who had been practicing batting on the field five hours before the game, waited for the right moment and hit a 99 mph cutter from Clase to the opposite field, just clearing the outfield wall.
New York’s players rushed out of the dugout to celebrate as Judge, likely the AL MVP after hitting 58 homers in the regular season, rounded the bases following his 15th postseason homer.
The Yankees, who had only three hits in the first seven innings, were still sharing hugs and high-fives when Stanton crushed a 1-2 slider from Clase, sending it over the center-field wall.
Even though they had the lead, the Yankees weren’t taking anything for granted. “I wouldn’t say we were looking ahead to the World Series,” Judge said. “We still have another game, even if it was 3-0.”
Clase had been outstanding all season, giving up just five runs and getting 34 saves in a row while performing well almost every time he pitched.
But he gave up a three-run homer in the ninth inning to Kerry Carpenter in the ALDS before Judge and Stanton hit him in just eight pitches.
New York had two runners on with no outs in the ninth but only managed to score one run, which came from Gleyber Torres’ sacrifice fly. Eli Morgan ended the inning by striking out Juan Soto. Rookie Kyle Manzardo hit a two-run homer in the third inning for Cleveland.
This was the 30th postseason game between the Guardians and Yankees, showcasing another close contest between two teams that know each other well at this time of year. This is their seventh playoff meeting.
Cleveland finally got some length from a starting pitcher, as Matthew Boyd went five innings, the most Vogt has allowed this postseason. The left-hander gave up two hits in the second but then retired 10 batters in a row, with seven of those being easy groundouts.
