We meet again: Yankees and Guardians renew postseason rivalry

The Guardians and Yankees have been around for a long time. Cleveland is a charter member of the American League, which was established in 1901, and the Yankees were born two years later.

In the 121 years during which both have been Major League franchises, they have met in the postseason six times: 1997, 1998, 2007, 2017, 2020 and 2022. In that span, the clubs have been pretty evenly matched, with New York winning 15 games and Cleveland winning 12. Prior to the advent of the Wild Card in 1994, both were in the AL East and therefore did not match up in the playoffs.

Including this year’s AL Championship Series, the seven meetings between the Guardians and Yankees are topped only by the 11 times the Yankees and Dodgers faced off in the playoffs as the most common postseason matchup in MLB history. Here’s a look back at all six series between Cleveland and New York to this point.

1997 AL Division Series (CLE wins, 3-2)

Cleveland was hungry for a return to the World Series after falling short against the Braves two years earlier. In 1996, Cleveland won 99 games but was eliminated by the Orioles in the ALDS. So, for a city that hadn’t experienced a championship since a 1948 World Series win over the Boston Braves, this had to be the year. It nearly was — Cleveland would lose a heartbreaking World Series Game 7 on a walk-off single by the Marlins’ Edgar Renteria.

The 1997 postseason opened with a showdown against the Yankees, the defending World Series champions who were in the midst of a run during which they won it all four times in five years. But ’97 was the exception.

Veteran catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., who had won the All-Star Game MVP Award that summer in his home ballpark, hit .316 with a pair of homers — including a game-tying shot off legendary closer Mariano Rivera in the eighth inning of Game 4 — to lead the lineup.

Meanwhile 21-year-old rookie Jaret Wright and veteran Orel Hershiser led the way on the mound. In the decisive Game 5, Wright tossed 5 1/3 solid innings and a three-run third inning featuring a two-run double from Manny Ramirez and an RBI single by Matt Williams proved to be the difference in a 4-3 victory.

For the Yankees, the big producers at the plate were Derek Jeter (.333, 2B, 2 HR) and Paul O’Neill (.421, 2 2B, 2 HR). On the mound, David Wells tossed a complete game in Game 3, limiting Cleveland to one run on five hits in a 6-1 win.

1998 AL Championship Series (NYY wins, 4-2)

The Yankees returned the favor a year later, when they avenged the prior fall’s ALDS loss to Cleveland with a six-game victory in the ALCS. Third baseman Scott Brosius, in a prelude to what was to come in an MVP performance during the World Series, hit .300 with a double, a homer and a team-high six RBIs.

On the mound, Wells led the way for New York with a performance that earned him ALCS MVP honors. He made two starts over which he posted a 2.87 ERA with 18 strikeouts and two walks over 15 2/3 innings.

Future Hall of Famer Jim Thome had a tremendous series for Cleveland, slugging four home runs and driving in eight. Ramirez also had a great series, batting .333 with a pair of homers of his own. On the mound, Bartolo Colon tossed a complete game for Cleveland in Game 3, a 6-1 victory.

2007 ALDS (CLE wins, 3-1)

The 2007 ALDS is perhaps most remembered for one of the most unusual sights in a postseason game — a swarm of midges swirling around Yankees right-hander Joba Chamberlain in Game 2, which came to be affectionately (or not) known as the “bug game.”

Chamberlain was clearly impacted by the bugs, throwing a wild pitch that enabled the tying run to score in the eighth inning. Game 2 was tied, 1-1, heading into extra innings in Cleveland. In the bottom of the 11th, Travis Hafner delivered a walk-off single to put Cleveland up in the series, two games to none.

When the series moved to the Bronx, the Yankees bounced back with an 8-4 win in Game 3, but Cleveland wouldn’t be denied, clinching the AL pennant the following night with a 6-4 victory. Hafner was far from the only hitting hero for Cleveland — Grady Sizemore (.375, 3B, HR), Jhonny Peralta (.467, 3 2B), Victor Martinez (.353, 2B, HR) and Kenny Lofton (.375, 2B, 4 RBIs) also delivered at the plate.

The Yankees’ lineup was led by Robinson Canó, who hit .333 with a double and two homers, and Johnny Damon, who launched a pair of homers as well. On the mound, Andy Pettitte was excellent in Game 2, turning in 6 1/3 scoreless innings, but for the most part, the pitching staff didn’t fare well for New York.

2017 ALDS (NYY wins, 3-2)

This series was a true battle of bullpens, and the Yankees’ relief corps outlasted Cleveland’s, though barely. New York fell into an 0-2 series hole, and it looked as though Cleveland’s relievers — led by Andrew Miller, Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw — would be pitching in the ALCS for the second consecutive year.

After being blanked in Game 1, 4-0, the Yankees hit Game 2 starter Corey Kluber hard for six runs over 2 2/3 innings. But Cleveland’s ’pen came to the rescue and gave the offense a chance to erase a five-run deficit and win, 9-8, in extra innings.

The Yankees, though, were undeterred, rallying for three consecutive victories to stun Cleveland and clinch the series. In Game 3, starter Masahiro Tanaka was brilliant, pitching seven scoreless innings and turning things over to the bullpen, which blanked Cleveland over the final two frames. The only run of the game came on a Greg Bird solo homer off Miller in the seventh.

In Game 4, the Yanks had a little more breathing room, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in a contest during which six of New York’s seven runs were unearned thanks to four Cleveland errors. The Yankees had to go back to Cleveland for Game 5 but clinched the pennant with a 5-2 victory thanks in large part to 4 2/3 hitless innings by David Robertson (2 2/3) and Aroldis Chapman (2) out of the bullpen.

2020 AL Wild Card Series (NYY wins, 2-0)

In the first year of the Wild Card Series in each league, New York and Cleveland met again in the first round of the postseason. This time, it was a best-of-three, and the Yankees swept the series by scoring 22 runs over two games on the road.

Game 1 featured a home run barrage by the Bronx Bombers combined with a seven-inning gem by Gerrit Cole. The Yanks smashed four homers — one each from Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Brett Gardner and Giancarlo Stanton — and a 13-strikeout, no-walk performance from Cole that resulted in a 12-3 win.

Game 2 was a considerably tighter contest, with the Yankees prevailing, 10-9. By the end of the first inning, New York was down, 4-0. But the bats remained hot, delivering three more homers, including a Gio Urshela grand slam. Trailing, 9-8, in the top of the 9th, Gary Sánchez tied the game with a sacrifice fly and DJ LeMahieu came through with a go-ahead single. Chapman then closed out the series with three strikeouts in the bottom half.

2022 ALDS (NYY wins, 3-2)

The Yankees took Game 1 of this series behind a stellar outing from Cole, who gave up one run over 6 1/3 innings. He didn’t need much offense, but he got a solo homer from Harrison Bader and a two-run shot by Anthony Rizzo to back him in a 4-1 win.

The Guardians rebounded with a 4-2, 10-inning win in Game 2. A José Ramírez double to open the 10th, followed by an Oscar Gonzalez RBI single and a Josh Naylor RBI double proved to be the difference. Emmanuel Clase closed the game out and picked up the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

It looked as though the Yankees would take Game 3 and a series lead, but Cleveland stunned them with three runs in the bottom of the ninth. An RBI single from Amed Rosario and a two-run walk-off single by Gonzalez gave Cleveland a 2-1 series lead.

Despite the difficult Game 3 loss, the Yankees gathered themselves and forced a decisive Game 5 at Yankee Stadium by winning Game 4 in Cleveland, 4-2. Bader hit a two-run homer, his third home run of the series, to support another great start from Cole, who went seven strong innings.

Back home two days later, New York closed out the series with the help of homers from Judge and Stanton, as well as five solid innings from Nestor Cortes and three scoreless frames from the bullpen.