CLEVELAND — After a few closers imploded in Game 3 of the ALCS, a former closer did the same on Thursday when David Fry smoked a two-run, walk-off homer off Clay Holmes in the 10th inning of Game 3 of the ALCS.
The heroic effort resulted in a 7-5 win for the Guardians and came shortly after Jhonkensy Noel demolished a Luke Weaver changeup to tie the game in the ninth inning. The two-run bomb was the second home run Weaver allowed in as many games.
Earlier, Emmanuel Clase tried for a four-out save in his first appearance of the ALCS with the Guardians in possession of a 3-1 lead. The Bombers had mustered just one run against lefty starter Matthew Boyd and a few of Cleveland’s high-leverage relievers, and Clase had allowed just five earned runs all season while saving 47 games.
Those numbers didn’t matter to Aaron Judge in the eighth. With Juan Soto working a walk against Hunter Gaddis, Judge lined a 1-2 cutter off Clase for a two-run homer.
As the game-tying drive barely cleared Progressive Field’s right field wall, Judge hooted and pumped his arms. Meanwhile, the Yankees’ dugout spilled onto the field to celebrate Judge’s second home run in as many postseason games following a long October power outage.
ALLLLLLLLLL RISE!
AARON JUDGE GAME-TYING HOME RUN 🤯 pic.twitter.com/P2tQxBItoi
— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2024
The Yankees’ bench did the same one batter later, as Giancarlo Stanton belted a go-ahead blast of his own off Clase’s signature cutter, his third of this postseason. The reliever surrendered just two homers during the regular season, but the Yankees celebrated matching that figure a bit prematurely as Cleveland slugged its way back.
The Yankees, now up 2-1 in the series, added a run in the ninth on a Gleyber Torres sac fly. That followed a bizarre baserunning play that saw Anthony Volpe get into a rundown before crashing into José Ramírez on his way to third. Ramírez dropped the ball as the two collided, giving the Yankees two runners in scoring position with nobody out.
The Yanks also had help from Jose Trevino, who picked up an RBI single in the second inning. However, the not-so-fleet of foot catcher, playing for the first time since the Bombers’ regular season finale, was then picked off by Boyd.
Cleveland rode Boyd’s left arm for the first five innings. While he walked three batters, he only permitted two hits while striking out four over 75 pitches.
Meanwhile, Yankees’ starter Clarke Schmidt made a costly mistake in the third inning when Kyle Manzardo crushed a two-run homer 395 feet to right. Schmidt missed his spot on the pitch, leaving a sinker over the heart of the plate with Trevino setting up outside.
Schmidt didn’t allow any other runs over 4.2 innings, but the Yankees found themselves in a tough spot in the sixth when Ian Hamilton exited with left calf tightness after covering first base on a groundball.
Tim Mayza then entered the game, resulting in an Andrés Giménez RBI single after Lane Thomas stole third.
Now looking for a bounce-back, the Yankees will turn to Luis Gil in Game 4 on Friday. The Rookie of the Year contender has not pitched in an official game since his last start of the regular season on Sept. 28.
Gil did throw about 70 pitches over four innings in a simulated game at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 13. He faced a mix of big league and minor league hitters that day, and he’s also thrown a bullpen since.
Gavin Williams will take the ball for the Guardians. Like Gil, the righty did not pitch in the ALDS.