CLEVELAND – Game 3 turned into an intense battle, with each team delivering powerful hits. The game-changing homers from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton came too late for the Yankees.

“They landed the last blow,” Clarke Schmidt remarked about the Cleveland Guardians, as the Yankees sat in silence in their clubhouse post-game at Progressive Field.

The team was still reeling from the Guardians’ dramatic comeback in this AL Championship Series, resulting in a surprising 7-5 victory in the 10th inning.

David Fry’s two-run homer off Clay Holmes sealed the game, shifting the Yankees’ focus to their next challenge: putting aside the heartbreak of almost leading the series 3-0 and gearing up to win Game 4.

In a pivotal moment of the game, pinch-hitter Jhonkensy Noel hit a dramatic two-out home run in the ninth inning that brought the score level.

“It’s never a good time for a loss like this, especially now,” Stanton commented on the situation, underscoring the urgency to move on quickly. “But we have no choice.”

Manager Aaron Boone expressed confidence in his team’s resilience. “We’ve handled tough losses before and bounced back,” Boone noted, emphasizing the team’s ability to move on from setbacks.

“Winning the East and having the best record in the AL means something, but we’ve faced difficulties this season,” Boone added. “These players come in ready to compete and can easily shake off a tough loss.”

Yankees Focus on Game 4 Against Guardians

However, there are concerns about the team’s physical condition leading into Friday’s Game 4 (set for 8:08 p.m.).

The stress of Game 3 took a toll on the Yankees’ relief pitchers, with both Holmes and Weaver having participated in all seven playoff games so far.

Reliever Ian Hamilton suffered a left calf injury and will undergo an MRI, while veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who had to be substituted late for defense, has been playing with fractured fingers that are slowly healing, affecting his performance.

As the Yankees prepare for Game 5, they will have Luis Gil starting Game 4 after he’s rested for 19 days (with a simulated game to keep him game-ready).

Concerns also linger over the mental state of Cleveland’s elite closer.

Judge and Stanton hit significant back-to-back eighth-inning homers against Emmanuel Clase, who had been dominant with his cutter throughout the regular season.

Clase’s performance has been less stellar this October, and Judge connected for a game-tying homer that just cleared the right-field wall after initially walking Juan Soto.

As the Yankees celebrated Judge’s remarkable two-strike homer at 99 mph that went 356 feet, Stanton followed with a mammoth go-ahead shot.

“We’re definitely going to face him again,” Stanton said, recalling how he fouled off two cutters before hitting a slider that soared over 400 feet to center field.

Rizzo viewed the game as a classic encounter, but Judge preferred not to dwell on the past.

“A loss is a loss,” he said. “We can’t linger on it; we need to reset and prepare for the next game.”

Bullpen Challenges in ALCS Game 3

Weaver had recorded the

This was the last of the Yankees’ five postseason victories, and he was on track for a sixth.

Then Lane Thomas turned the count from 0-2 to a full count, hitting a two-out double off the center-field wall, giving Cleveland a boost in the ninth inning.

Boone had Holmes ready to go, but he believed Weaver – who secured the final out in the eighth – was still in good form.

“I felt he was the right choice at that moment,” Boone stated.

“I’m feeling good,” Weaver replied, expressing regret particularly for the Thomas at-bat. “Sometimes you need to slow things down (but) I didn’t execute when it counted.”

“However, I believe I’m in a good place.”

The pitch to Noel was not properly placed—it was a changeup that didn’t turn out right.

“I just threw my worst pitch of the game,” Weaver admitted. “And he capitalized on it.”