The Yankees lead 2-0 in an ugly ALCS. Also an unexpected Gold Glove finalist

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Last night was proof: Even ugly baseball can be exciting! Plus: Ken on Walker Buehler, the Gold Glove finalists have been announced and we get some context on the final four remaining teams. I am Levi Weaverhere with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!

ALCS Game 2: The Yankees do their business at home

Yankees 6, Guardians 3: Style points are not awarded in baseball. If they did, perhaps neither team would lead this series, which moves from New York to Cleveland.

Let's start with the Guardians. Last night, each of their two errors resulted in a run. They managed eight hits and six walks to keep the basepaths warm all night, but went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left a total of 11 runners stranded. Tanner Bibee didn't make it out of the second inning.

That meant manager Stephen Vogt was brought in eight Pitcher in loss. That worked in Game 5 against the Tigers. It didn't work last night.

That wasn't the only lever Vogt pulled. Trailing 3-0 in the fourth inning, Vogt tried to take advantage of a bases-loaded, one-out situation by hitting a pinch hit to catcher Bo Naylor. But David Fry came out and the Guardians didn't score. Austin Hedges came in to catch.

An inning later, the Guardians had scored twice to make it 3-2, and the bases were loaded again, this time with two outs. Hedges is an outstanding defensive catcher…who also happened to hit .152 this year. He struck swinging.

Like the quick hook for Bibee, it's hard to say Vogt made the wrong decision both times. He couldn't have predicted it another Bases loaded situation an inning later. Sometimes, as Ron Washington once said, “That's just the way baseball is.” You need another way – badly.

It wasn't the best win for the Yankees either. Gerrit Cole started strong but walked as many as he struck out (four) in 4 1/3 innings. In the sixth, the Yankees made two outs on the basepaths in one inning. They allowed baserunners in every inning except the first and sixth.

But they executed when necessary. Style points or not, they lead the series 2-0. And Aaron Judge finally did it. If he finds his groove, things could get even uglier for Cleveland.

More Yankees: How New York helped Luke Weaver unleash the best versions of his three pitches.

Ken's notebook: Buehler's new reality is in the spotlight tonight

One way to describe Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler, based on his interactions with reporters, is humility.

Buehler, 30, is no longer the star who led the Dodgers to the 2020 World Series title or the pitcher who was an All-Star and top-10 NL Cy Young finisher in 2019 and 2021. A second Tommy John surgery in August 2022 changed everything. He then struggled upon his return this season and was on the injured list for almost two months due to right hip inflammation.

While Buehler showed encouraging signs in his Division Series start against the San Diego Padres, pitching three scoreless innings after giving up six runs in the second, he demurred yesterday when asked about getting back there in October , where he wants to be.

“It's hard to answer that question yes after six earned runs,” Buehler said on the eve of his start in Game 3 against the New York Mets in the NLCS, refusing to suggest that the inning featured some bad luck. “But yeah, I feel good, I’m confident. For a long time that was one of my greatest strengths, my self-confidence.”

It's understandable if Buehler isn't as confident as he was early in his career, Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said.

“He's had a long few years,” Prior explained. “It's been a big challenge, obviously physically, with the elbow and the rehab. It's also mental and emotional. It wasn't an easy way back for him. He had to go back to the drawing board several times and try to figure out, 'Okay, this isn't working, this didn't work.'”

The Bühler from before had no such concerns.

“Let's be honest. He went out and bullied guys,” Prior said. “He was in (elite) command. He had swing-and-miss on his fastball. He changed speed when necessary.

“He can’t bully guys. It takes a while to realize that you're not that pitcher in that moment, not that he won't be that guy again. How is he creative? How does he use his imagination to get hitters out? Ultimately, it's all about screwing up their timing. And he’s been better at that lately.”

In 16 starts this season, including his playoff start against the Padres, Buehler's ERA is 5.38. He hasn't gone more than six innings yet. And against the Mets, who are supported by a rested bullpen, his leash is relatively short.

He's not the Bühler he used to be. Tonight, the Dodgers just need him to be good enough.

(Game 3: Buehler vs. Luis Severino, 8:08 p.m. ET, FS1. Stream the MLB Playoffs on Fubo.)

Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images

Awards Chatter: The finalists for the Gold Glove have been announced

That's not it quite Awards season isn't over yet, but we're already at the “leave a hint, start a few arguments” section. The Gold Glove finalists were announced yesterday, and the lists – three players per position, per league – included some familiar names and a few surprises.

Among the usual suspects: Andrés Giménez, second baseman of the Guardians, Nolan Arenado, third baseman of the Cardinals, Royals catcher Salv – Wait, wait…

Actually, that's the Royals catcher Freddy Ferminwho started 72 of the Royals' 162 games as catcher. Perez started with 90. It's an unexpected passing of the golden torch in Kansas City, but not exactly a “Rafael Palmeiro wins the Gold Glove in 1999 despite playing only 28 games at first base” kind of thing. Fermin's 16 defensive runs saved Cal Raleigh from the Mariners and gave it the league lead.

Other notable finalists:

• Bryce Harperin his first full season as first base in Philadelphia. Harper was a finalist as a right fielder in 2015 and 2019, but has yet to win one.
• Juan Soto is not known for being a particularly gloved right fielder for the Yankees, but he is one of the American League's three finalists.
• Seth Lugo/Cole Ragans — It seemed unusual to see two players on the same team competing for a Gold Glove, but it's not all that strange with pitchers. Since 2014, Lugo and Ragans are the fifth pair of pitching teammates to be named Gold Glove finalists. In fact, it happened in both leagues last year, with Sonny Gray and Pablo López of the Twins in the AL and Taijuan Walker and Zack Wheeler of the Phillies in the NL.

More golden gloves: Grant Brisbee shows us a highlight video of the Giants finalists. Matt Chapman's videos alone are worth a click.

Instruction: Let's talk about the playoff format

Man, do I love the context? I'm a fan of it. Give me a new statistic and my next questions will always be, “Why does this matter?” Who is the best/worst at it? What is the sample size before it is relevant?” and about half a dozen more if necessary.

Team wins a big game? Does the player have a great (or terrible) outing? I immediately want to know how it fits into their trends. Was that an outlier? If so, was it an adjustment or just an anomaly?

Context becomes background noise in the playoffs. Take something as simple as a four-game losing streak. The Yankees had two of them this year, and it wasn't a big problem – they're just two wins away from the World Series! But if they did it again now, it would be an apocalypse-level event in the Bronx as the Guardians impose on each other on the Hill.

I love the playoffs, but my least favorite part is the dissolution of the context. So here's a big thank you to Stephen Nesbitt for sneaking in some of my favorite piece. He goes back to our preseason power rankings and tells us what we learned about each of the four remaining teams and how each of them got here.

Stephen, thank you for your commitment to context. Now scroll down and see what we learned from the Mets…

“In the playoffs, timeliness is more meaningful than reputation.”

Oh, Come on.

Handshakes and high fives

(Top photo: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)