One comeback thwarted, Guards focus on their next

CLEVELAND — For a moment, it looked as if Jhonkensy Noel was going to bring the house down again.

One night after causing pandemonium amongst the Cleveland faithful with a dramatic pinch-hit game-tying two-run home run in the ninth inning of the instant classic that was Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, Noel came off the bench Friday night in the seventh inning of Game 4 in a similar spot. The Guardians were trailing by one run, Lane Thomas, who was on base for Noel’s homer the previous night, was on first after drawing a walk.

Facing Yankees reliever Mark Leiter Jr., Noel fiercely connected on a 1-1 sweeper from the right-hander that had the look of another miraculous late-inning moment. It caused the entire Guardians dugout, along with the crowd at Progressive Field, to rise as one. Could the man they call “Big Christmas” really have just done it two nights in a row?

Much like Thursday night, Noel’s drive went to deep left field. This time, though, it died out at the warning track, with Alex Verdugo running under it for the second out of the inning. There would be no Noel magic on this night, as the Guardians fell to the Yankees, 8-6, and are on the brink of elimination in this best-of-seven series at 3-1.

“I thought maybe [Noel] got enough to get it off the wall,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be a homer. I thought it may get into that little angled wall. Verdugo made a nice play. It looked like it was about five feet short from hitting off the wall.”

The Guardians have their backs pressed against the proverbial wall. In all best-of-seven postseason series, the team leading 3-1 after four games has gone on to win the series 79 of 93 times (85%). Of the 14 teams to rally from a 3-1 deficit, the most recent was the 2020 Dodgers, in the NLCS against the Braves. Under the current 2-3-2 format, teams with a 3-1 lead and playing Game 5 on the road have gone on to win the series 42 of 49 times (86%).

As bleak as the situation might seem, if there is one team that might have the necessary qualities to overcome such a spot, it might just be this Guardians squad. All year long, this team has made a habit of fighting back.

The Guardians do not quit, showing that again while overcoming a 6-2 deficit to tie Game 4 in the eighth on David Fry’s infield single that was misplayed by Leiter Jr. and allowed Bo Naylor to score from third.

“We have them right where we want them,” catcher Austin Hedges said with a smile. “Backs against the wall all year. No one ever believes in us, and we’re the guys that believe in each other. We’ve just got to win one game, and that’s [Saturday].”

The Guardians’ lone win in this series required a full team effort. After Emmanuel Clase shockingly blew a save in the eighth, the Guardians answered with Noel’s homer to tie it and ended it with Fry’s walk-off homer in the 10th.

Even after another unexpected Clase hiccup on Friday — the All-Star closer allowed two runs in the top of the ninth — the Guardians mounted a last-gasp rally in the bottom half. A walk by Noel and single by Andrés Giménez brought the go-ahead run to the plate with one out before Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle sealed the victory.

Given Cleveland’s supreme resiliency, the Yankees know better than to look ahead to a potential World Series.

“No lead is safe,” Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton said. “It’s a great team over there. … That’s what shows that we need every single person on our team to contribute in some way, and we’re going to need everybody.”

This is not the first time these Guardians have been in this spot this postseason. They also faced elimination in the AL Division Series against the Tigers before prevailing in five games on the heroics of a grand slam by Thomas. So how will they come out in a must-win Game 5 on Saturday?

“Same way we always do,” Vogt said. “We’re going to show up ready to win. That’s who these guys are. When our backs are against the wall, we play our best baseball. We don’t quit. This team has no quit in it. It hasn’t all year long.”