NEW YORK — The Cleveland Guardians are currently facing a significant challenge in the American League Championship Series, falling behind after a disappointing performance.
On Tuesday evening, Cleveland’s rookie shortstop, Brayan Rocchio, along with right fielder Will Brennan, made serious blunders that contributed to their defeat against the New York Yankees. The final score was 6-3, giving the Yankees a 2-0 advantage in this best-of-seven matchup. As the series shifts to Cleveland for Game 3 on Thursday night, this marks the first time the Guardians face a two-game deficit in their six ALCS appearances.
In the first inning, Rocchio, who averaged 12 errors across 462 chances during the regular season, misplayed a pop-up hit by the formidable Aaron Judge. This error allowed the Yankees to score their first run. Rocchio moved to the right of the infield with runners on second and third, but dropped the ball as it bounced off his glove’s webbing, allowing Gleyber Torres to cross home plate and putting Cleveland in an early disadvantage. Rocchio expressed remorse, stating through a translator, “I wasn’t able to catch it. No excuse, I need to make that play, but I thought I was in position the best way.” He added that he was leaning towards second base at the last moment, which impacted his catch attempt.
Guardians’ manager Stephen Vogt defended Rocchio, suggesting that the play wasn’t straightforward. “That ball was up in the air for quite a while with the wind, tough play,” he remarked. “Those things happen.” Meanwhile, Brennan, who had successfully made a sliding catch on Giancarlo Stanton earlier in the game, encountered difficulties as he misplayed a carom off a double by Anthony Rizzo in the sixth inning. This misstep occurred after Cleveland had narrowed the score to 3-2. Rizzo’s line drive ricocheted off the wall, unintentionally allowing Anthony Volpe to score from first base and increasing New York’s advantage to 4-2.
Brennan shared his thoughts on the misplay, explaining, “I just kind of sped up knowing that Volpe can run a little bit. Just kind of misplayed it a little bit some. Something I don’t normally do, and it just happened to happen in that situation.” Throughout the regular season, Brennan played 80 of his 98 games in right field and totaled only two errors in 132 chances. Overall, he had two errors in 161 chances.
The errors committed by Rocchio and Brennan were particularly notable considering the Guardians had only one error in their previous six postseason games. Left fielder Steven Kwan commented on the disappointing performance, saying, “We didn’t play Cleveland baseball today. We got a couple of errors. Obviously, we pride ourselves on our defense. So if we want to win some games, we’re going to have to play Guard ball.” During the regular season, the Guardians had a track record of committing 87 errors, ranking tied with Tampa Bay for ninth place in the American League.