Takeaways From The Guardians Game One Loss To New York In ALDS
Maybe not the way we all envisioned game one gong. The Guardians dropped game one of the American League Division Series to the New York Yankees in a low-scoring, home-run-filled contest.
Steven Kwan Has Bounce Back Game
Let's start with something positive. One optimistic thing to take away from game one was seeing Steven Kwan have a bounce-back game. In the two games against the Rays in the ALWS, Kwan went without a hit. Something extremely unusual for him.
With that in mind, seeing him go two-for-four was a welcome site to see. One of those hits was a solo home run off Gerrit Cole that gave the Guardians the early lead at the time. Unfortunately, that was the only run the Guardians scored all game.
But, Kwan can't do it all. Other players need to step up too.
Pitchers Handle Judge ... For Now
One of the big questions for the Guardians heading into this series was how they were going to approach Aaron Judge. Whatever gameplan they came up with worked as they attacked Judge head-on.
Judge finished the night with three strikeouts and one walk. Two of those strikeouts came from the starter, Cal Quantrill, and the third came from James Karinchak.
Clearly, Judge is a fantastic hitter and he will be making adjustments to what he saw tonight. The Guardians need to be ready for this with some adjustments of their own for game two.
Where's The Offense?
Alright, let's get into it. Saying the offense was underwhelming tonight is probably a nice way to put it. It all started off well with prolonged at-bats forcing Cole's pitch count to skyrocket. Then they got the lead with the Kwan home run which seemed like a huge momentum swing. But after that, it was nothing but downhill.
The Guardians ended the game with 18 runners left on base. Let that sink in for a second, 18 base runners were stranded.
This included a bases-loaded opportunity in which they weren't able to convert a single run. This is the playoffs, the ALDS, if you don't take advantage of opportunities such as this then you're not going to win. That's exactly what happened tonight.
Now the Guardians have only scored four runs in their first three postseason games. All of those coming off home runs.
Even with all that was left to be desired in Tuesday night's loss, the Guardians still stayed competitive throughout the game. If they can make a few adjustments then game two could easily go the Guardians' way.
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Read More:
Bizarre Play Denis Josh Donaldson Of Home Run For Yankees
WATCH: Steven Kwan Hits Home Run Off Cole To Give Guardians Lead Over Yankees
Cleveland Guardians Set Playoff Roster Vs. New York Yankees
Cal Quantrill Talks How The Guardians Will Pitch Aaron Judge
The Guardians Need To Do This Against The Yankees In The ALDS
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