'He's human': Emmanuel Clase falters, but Guardians pick him up with ALCS Game 3 comeback win over Yankees

Clase entered the game with two outs after Hunter Gaddis struck out Juan Soto on four pitches. He worked 1-2 off Judge before the Yankees captain drilled a 99-mph cutter to the outside corner of the plate 356 feet above the right-field wall for his 15th postseason home run and sixth in the ALCS -Game.

According to Statcast, the ball would have been a home run in eight of the 29 other ballparks, including Yankee Stadium. To make matters worse, Giancarlo Stanton capped a seven-pitch batter with a solo shot to center field that gave New York a 4-3 lead.

Guardians designated hitter David Fry said it felt like Cleveland had been punched in the mouth with the best pitcher in baseball on the mound. Clase had dominated the regular season with more saves (47) than anyone in the American League. To determine his ERA you needed a microscope, it was just under 0.61.

Clase had given his all on the mound all season for the Guardians. So Fry and his teammates decided it was time to return the favor.

“It was just like, 'You know what, it's time we give him a break,'” Fry said. “He’s carried our team all year in the ninth inning and it’s time to pick him up and I’m glad we did.”

Home runs by Jhonkensy Noel in the ninth and Fry in the 10th ultimately gave Cleveland a 7-5 walk-off victory and kept the Guardians alive as they trailed two games to one in the best-of-seven American League championship series .

It was Clase's first blown save in four postseason chances in 2022. He allowed multiple home runs in a game for the first time in his career, regular season or postseason. Clase didn't stick around to talk to reporters about the leadership job.

Afterwards, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt understood what made the clash between Clase and Judge so special and why everyone in the stadium was still raving about it more than an hour later.

“I think there is one person who could beat Emmanuel Clase out of the field, and he did that,” Vogt said. “As a baseball fan, it was really cool. As an opposing manager that wasn’t the case.”

Vogt said before the eighth inning Thursday that his finishing has been nearly perfect this season.

“We couldn’t have asked for anything better from Emmanuel all year and he’ll be back out there tomorrow night in the ninth race,” Vogt said. “He’s human.”

After the game, Noel said there was no reason to console Clase since Cleveland won the game in the end. But he echoed Fry's comments through Guardians interpreter Agustin Rivero, saying his team was lucky to have the best pitcher in the world alongside them.

“It's going to happen, and he's saved us so many times that it's the least we can do for him,” Noel said.

Cleveland's plan to beat New York was working before Clase faltered. Matthew Boyd gave them five innings and handed the ball to the Big Four at the back of their bullpen with a lead in the sixth inning. Boyd retired the final 10 batters, including seven on ground balls, following Jose Trevino's RBI single in the second. Boyd became the Guardians' first starter to go five innings and earn a win in the 2024 playoffs.

Cade Smith struck out Judge on four pitches in the sixth, the final strike coming with a nasty splitter that went down and in after three consecutive 95 mph fastballs. Smith needed 10 pitches to get through his inning. All of them were strikes.

Tim Herrin walked Jazz Chisholm Jr to open the seventh, but got Jon Berti on a grounder to Jose Ramirez that triggered a double play. After Anthony Volpe hit a double into the left field corner, Herrin took care of Alex Verdugo with a harmless pop to Steven Kwan.

Gaddis struck out Trevino and retired Gleyber Torres with a grounder to second before walking Juan Soto on four consecutive throws.

That pitted Clase and Judge against each other, two of the biggest human differences in baseball this season, and both are poised to take home a boatload of postseason awards.

• Judge led the majors with 58 home runs and 144 RBI. The presumptive American League MVP also led baseball in on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.701), on-base plus slugging percentage (1.159), walks (133), times on base ( 322) and game-winning RBI on (24) and go-ahead for RBI (32).
• Clase led all major league relievers with a 0.61 ERA and was second in the majors with a .064 batting average against runners in scoring position. He allowed home runs in just two appearances over 74 1/3 innings and still recorded saves in both games.
• Clase's control was elite. He struck out just 10 out of 270 batters he faced. After May 20, he converted 36 straight saves, including the postseason. The Guardians had a record of 66-8 when he played in a regular season game.

But Judge took him deep for just his fourth home run allowed in 2024, including two in the regular season and two in the playoffs. Judge hit seven home runs in the postseason, tying Derek Jeter for third-most in Yankees history behind Babe Ruth and Bernie Williams (8).

“Aaron Judge is one of the best hitters on the planet and it was fun to watch this matchup,” said Vogt. “I wish it had gone differently, but we’re lucky we got this one and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

Boyd said the Guardians are about rallying around Clase.

“He has the ball every time the game is on the line and I will pick him over whoever is in the box every time,” Boyd said. “Our whole club feels the same way.”

What happened after Clase hit Judge showed exactly who Cleveland is as a team.

“We just keep fighting,” Boyd said. “Like I said, it’s in our DNA and that’s what we hold on to.”