Cleveland @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 21, 2024 ) Cleveland 1, NY Yankees 8
In each of the past two games, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge homered. The only difference from the marathon series opener on Tuesday was that the duo helped the New York Yankees dominate a win on Wednesday.
After driving in 12 of New York's 13 runs the past two days, the powerful pair will attempt to help the Yankees get a series win over the visiting Cleveland Guardians when the division leaders conclude a three-game series on Thursday afternoon.
Soto and Judge homered in the first inning Tuesday, but the Yankees went 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position and allowed six runs in the 12th inning of a 9-5 loss. A night later, the duo went a combined 4-for-6 with eight RBIs in an 8-1 rout that snapped the Yankees' three-game losing streak and pushed them back ahead in the American League East.
Soto hit a two-run homer in the first inning, then added a three-run double in the third. He is up to a career-high 36 homers and has eight long balls in his past nine games, including a three-homer game last week against the Chicago White Sox.
Judge hit his major-league-leading 46th and 47th homers, putting him at a 60-home run pace two years after he hit 62 to break Roger Maris' single-season AL record. Judge has six homers in his past nine games, 12 in his past 23 and is hitting .471 (16-for-34) with six homers and 12 RBIs during a season-high nine-game hitting streak.
"It's fun," Soto said. "It's great to see. It's great to take the lead early and follow it up by one of the greatest hitters in the game."
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of Soto and Judge, "They're not missing pitches right now. It's tough, and I think it's a combination of things. Just unfortunate they beat us tonight."
Cleveland has just six wins in its past 17 games since holding a six-game lead atop the AL Central following its 8-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 2. The Guardians are now up by just 2 1/2 games over the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals.
On Wednesday, the Guardians finished with four hits and no walks and had just one at-bat with a runner in scoring position after totaling 12 hits and 14 walks while going 7-for-24 with runners in scoring position a night earlier.
Cleveland was held to two runs or fewer for the third time in four games as Steven Kwan, Lane Thomas and Jose Ramirez -- the top three batters in the lineup -- went a combined 0-for-10.
After getting seven scoreless innings from Nestor Cortes, New York will send Gerrit Cole (4-2, 4.15 ERA) to the mound on Thursday.
Cole can join Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw as the fourth active pitcher to reach 150 career wins. On Friday, Cole allowed four hits in six shutout innings during a win over the Detroit Tigers, his first scoreless start since returning June 19 from an elbow injury.
Cole has allowed two runs or fewer in three straight outings and in five of his past six starts. The reigning AL Cy Young winner is 6-2 with a 3.07 ERA in 10 career regular-season starts against the Guardians.
Cleveland's Gavin Williams (2-5, 5.02 ERA) will make his 10th start of the season and attempt to rebound from one of his rockiest outings so far. After allowing one run in six innings at Minnesota on Aug. 10, Williams was tagged for five runs on six hits in four innings during a 5-3 loss at Milwaukee on Friday.
Williams, who was Cleveland's first-round pick in 2021, went 3-5 with a 3.29 ERA in 16 starts last season. He will be facing the Yankees for the first time.
--Field Level Media