The Cleveland Guardians pulled off an improbable victory over the New York Yankees in game three of the American League Championship Series.
Two separate two-run home runs in the ninth and tenth innings were what it took for the Guardians to secure their first win of the series.
Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd was able to give them five innings, but they were still forced to use seven pitchers after him in the game.
One Guardians reliever is dominating this postseason with two dominant pitches.
According to MLB on ‘X,’ Guardians reliever Cade Smith is dominating opponents as they have a .174 average against his fastball and .175 against his splitter.
Opponents are hitting .174 against Cade Smith's fastball and .175 against his splitter.
He broke them both out in a big spot against Aaron Judge last night 😤 pic.twitter.com/XNokrW01Lm
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2024
Smith pitched the sixth inning in game three and allowed zero hits, zero earned runs, and struck out one.
The one strikeout was a big one as it came against probable American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge.
Smith used his splitter to get Judge swinging in the sixth as the Guardians held a two-to-one lead over the Yankees.
In his first-ever postseason, Smith has pitched nine innings in 7 appearances and allowed two hits, one earned run, and one walk while striking out 15.
The Guardians will look to tie the series up against the Yankees in game four on Friday.
Game five will take place on Saturday in Cleveland before moving back to New York for game six if necessary.
Smith may be looked to again Friday as the Guardians probably used more pitchers than they would have liked in the game three win.
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