Let’s Go, Guards!

By: BHS Sports Staff

October 13, 2022

From legendary Indians/Guardians radio announcer Tom Hamilton: “Guardians fans, you will have another October to remember!”  

October baseball is here, and the Guardians have made it. After making it through the regular season as the youngest team in baseball and winning the American League Central Division, the Guardians have an ALDS matchup with the Evil Empire, the New York Yankees.

How did they get to this point?

The Guardians came into the regular season with a 7.5 percent chance to make the playoffs, and it seemed like the odds-makers were correct as the Tribe sat at 43-44 with just a few games before the All-Star break.

The second half of the season is when the Guardians turned things around and started going on winning streaks. However, after the Mariners series in early September, the postseason was looking bleak.

With a record of 68-64, the Guardians went 24-6 to finish their first regular season being 22 games above .500 with a final record of 92-70.

With a great group of guys like Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, Josh Naylor, Steven Kwan, Shane (not Justin) Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Oscar Gonzalez, and much more, this team was ready for the playoffs.

The Guardians faced another small ball team, the Tampa Bay Rays, in the AL Wild Card Series.

Game one was a pitchers’ duel through the first five innings. The Rays’ Jose Siri hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth to make it 1-0. However, Jose Ramirez answered right back with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, giving the Guardians a 2-1 lead. Shane Bieber pitched 7⅔ innings with one run given up, and Emmanuel Clase (the best closer in baseball) recorded a four-out save to secure a 2-1 victory.

In game two, it was another pitchers’ duel. Both teams showed off their leather with some really good defensive plays. Even though it was low scoring, the intensity was still there. Both teams nearly used their whole bullpens as the game went to 15 innings. But, in the bottom of the 15th, rookie Oscar Gonzalez (SpongeBob SquarePants) came in and smacked a walkoff home run to left center to secure the second and final win of the series. With the win, the Guardians advanced to the ALDS to face Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees.

The Guardians vs. the Yankees for the ALDS. The youngest team in baseball vs. the Yankees led by Aaron Judge who hit 62 home runs this season. Who will win?

Here are our predictions for the ALDS:

*Jacob: Guardians in 5

*Youssef: Yankees in 5

*Jaiden: Guardians in 5

*Anthony: Yankees in 4

*Ayman: Yankees in 3

*Mr. Holko: Guardians in 4

Last Tuesday in game one of the ALDS, the pitching matchup was Cal Quantrill for the Guardians and Gerrit Cole for the Yankees. Nothing happened in the first two innings until in the top of the third, leadoff rookie sensation Steven Kwan hit a solo home run to right field to make it 1-0 Guardians. The Guardians had a chance to add more runs with the bases loaded and one out but could not bring a run home. Immediately, in the bottom of the third, Harrison Bader tied up the game with a solo home run of his own.

In the bottom of the fifth, Josh Donaldson hit a fly ball to right field, and he thought it was a home run. However, the umpires ruled it not a home run, and he got thrown out at first.

However, this would not matter as the Yankees would later score on a sacrifice fly.

In the bottom of the sixth, Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run bomb to right field to make it 4-1 Yankees. The bullpen finished off the game, and the Guardians could not score a run. 

Final score: Yankees 4, Guardians 1.

The Guardians and Yankees play game two tonight at 7:37 p.m. (weather permitting) in New York. Pitching for the Guardians will be ace Shane Bieber and for the Yankees will be Nestor Cortes.

To keep up with the Guardians, click here.

Let’s go, Guards!