The American League’s top two seeds have punched their ALCS tickets. Which will win the pennant?
The Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees are headed to the 2024 American League Championship Series!
New York moved a step closer to its first World Series appearance since 2009 by knocking out the Kansas City Royals in four games and now will have to get past another American League Central team after Cleveland outlasted Detroit in a thrilling ALDS.
What have we learned about each of these teams? What does each side need to do to punch a ticket to the Fall Classic? And who could be the ALCS difference-makers? ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Jeff Passan, Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield break it all down.
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What has surprised you most during the Guardians’ postseason run?
Rogers: There has been some good and some bad. The good: Cade Smith has become Cleveland’s midgame closer who can shut down a dirty inning then come back out for more, as an up-and-down between frames is no issue for him. He provides so much value bridging that gap to the late innings. In the ALDS, he appeared in all five games and gave up just one run on one hit in 6⅓ innings. On the other hand, the Guardians’ actual closer, Emmanuel Clase, has looked human. Kerry Carpenter’s Game 2 home run stunned everyone, including Clase. Giving up another run in Game 4 didn’t help the star reliever’s confidence. Clase’s struggles — even if they seem more blip than trend — have been surprising.
Doolittle: Cleveland’s glaring virtues entering October were clear: Jose Ramirez on the hitting side and a deep, impregnable bullpen on the pitching side. Looking at the series as a whole, the offense was carried by the likes of Steven Kwan, David Fry and Brayan Rocchio. And with the bullpen, particularly Clase, a little uneven, Tanner Bibee and Matthew Boyd were crucial in keeping Detroit down in the early innings. Bibee/Boyd . it’s not exactly Feller/Lemon, or even Kluber/Carrasco, but the Guardians would not be around if the rotation had not held up as well as it did.
Why will it (or won’t it) continue against the Yankees in the ALCS?
Rogers: The Guardians have many strong right-handed options they can bring out of the bullpen in big spots. You can see a scenario where Smith faces Aaron Judge five or six times in the series, not to mention Hunter Gaddis and Clase coming in against Judge. Smith’s splits are actually even better against lefties so it’s not like Juan Soto would have an easy go against him either. The bullpen options will keep Cleveland in the mix.
Doolittle: The early innings, those first two trips through the Yankees’ lineup, will be fraught with anxiety for Guardians fans. With the LDS behind us, the formula for Cleveland remains what it was entering the playoffs: Get to the middle innings with a lead and let Clase, Gattis, Tim Herrin and the rest go to work. I just don’t see the Guardians keeping a lid on the top of the Yankees’ order, which is a whole different challenge than what Cleveland saw against Detroit.
