Sports
Guardians at Yankees score, live updates: Cleveland looking to avoid 0-2 deficit in ALCS Game 2
Stephen Vogt’s decision to intentionally walk Juan Soto to load the bases for Aaron Judge with one out was a certainly bold one, but Cade Smith was able to come in and end the frame with only one run allowed — a decent outcome for Cleveland, all things considered.
Still, the decision to pull the plug on starter Tanner Bibee after just four outs will have significant ramifications for the rest of this game. Yes, there’s an off-day tomorrow, but there are a lot of innings left to cover, even for a fresh Guardians bullpen that didn’t deploy any of its top arms in Game 1.
And even if the relievers can keep this game close, a three-run deficit to Gerrit Cole isn’t an especially easy mountain to climb. We can debate the bullpen buttons Vogt is pressing all we want, but if Cleveland can’t score, those choices won’t matter much.