CLEVELAND — José Ramírez finally had his New York moment.
After several frustrating at-bats in Yankee Stadium, Cleveland’s All-Star third baseman connected for a homer in the ninth inning of Game 2.
The shot into the ballpark’s famed “short porch” in right was too little, too late, but a positive sign for the Guardians.
Trouble is, Aaron Judge gave the Yankees one as well.
Down 2-0 in the AL Championship Series following two sloppy games in New York, the Guardians returned home Wednesday feeling optimistic about cutting into the Yankees’ commanding lead with three straight games — assuming, that is, they win one of the next two — at Progressive Field.
The Guardians were the AL’s best team at home (50-30) this season and Cleveland’s rocking crowd, while not nearly as intense as its pinstriped-dressed counterparts in New York, showed it was more than ready for October during the club’s ALDS against Detroit.
“Obviously we would have loved to have taken one in New York,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Wednesday before the team worked out on a cloudy, chilly afternoon. “But we still feel really good about our chances.”
They should.
The Guardians had numerous scoring opportunities in the early innings of Game 2 against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, but they squandered them and Judge’s first homer of the post-season in the seventh inning put them away in a 6-3 loss.
Cleveland finished 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners.
However, Vogt was pleased with his team’s approach, if not the results.
“We just weren’t able to get that big hit,” said Vogt, who will start lefty Matthew Boyd against New York’s Clarke Schmidt in Game 3. “We had pressure on them all night. Seemed like every inning we had one, two guys on.
“Our guys have been great in those situations for the majority of the year, and when you have one game where it stands out, it’s not going to get us down.”
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It won’t slow Ramírez, who hits in the heart of Cleveland’s lineup and is in many ways the team’s soul.
One of the game’s best players — Yankees manager Aaron Boone bristled before the series at him described as underrated — Ramírez has not been himself this October. He’s batting just .167 (4 of 24) in the post-season and is 1 of 7 with runners in scoring position.
That’s why seeing him circle the bases without his helmet flying off was such a big deal.
When he’s one of his tears, Ramírez, who finished one homer shy of making the 40-40 club in the regular season, can single-handedly carry Cleveland. His swing has been a tad off the last seven games, but he tattooed two balls in Game 1 that Judge ran down in center.
“Hosey just needs to be him,” Vogt said. “He just needs to be himself. He had really good at-bats last night. He had an opportunity. We all expect him to get the big hit every single time he gets up there, but he’s done that to himself.
“If there’s anybody I’m confident in coming out tomorrow ready to go, it’s going to be Hosey.”
The Yankees feel the same way about Judge, this year’s likely AL MVP and the game’s most feared right-handed slugger.
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Judge, who hit 58 homers this season, was only 2 of 17 with six walks and two sacrifice flies in the playoffs before he hammered a belt-high fastball from Hunter Gaddis, sending it 414 feet to center field before it touched down near Monument Park.
Judge flashed a smile of joy mixed with relief on his home run trot. Afterward he joked that the ballpark’s “ghosts” may have given him some help on his 14th homer in his 50th post-season game.
Vogt was asked how many major leaguers could hit that pitch that far.
“Probably one,” he said.
Rizzo’s return
Anthony Rizzo’s addition to New York’s ALCS roster was something of a surprise. So is what he’s been doing.
Rizzo, who fractured two fingers on his right hand when he got hit with a pitch on Sept. 28, went 2 for 4 with a double and scored a run in Game 2. The first baseman’s shot down the right-field line in the sixth inning came after Jazz Chisolm got picked off second — an out that loomed large as Cleveland rallied.
But Rizzo, who did not play against Houston in the ALDS, delivered and the Yankees are hoping he can stay in the lineup.
Manager Aaron Boone said Rizzo told him his fingers were sore, but that he felt better than after Game 1.
“I asked him if he slept here in the hyperbaric chamber,” Boone joked when asked if Rizzo is getting round-the-clock treatment. “He’s been here a lot. He did go home last night, though. The last couple weeks, just really trying to get as much treatment as he can and trying to move the needle just as much as he can to obviously be available.”
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Fan club
Now that he’s a teammate, Boyd has an even greater appreciation of Ramírez.
The left-hander spent eight seasons with Detroit and had more than his share of matchups against the six-time All-Star, who has finished in the top three in MVP voting three times.
Boyd always marvelled at Ramírez’s combination of speed and power, but it wasn’t until he was around him consistently that he recognized the other qualities that make him great.
“The coolest thing about Hosey is the way he shows up ready to play every day,” Boyd said. “The guy is a gamer. Doesn’t matter how he feels, same guy every single day. When you see it firsthand, you can give him the word sparkplug, leader.
“There’s multiple synonyms that you can use to describe him. He’s truly special.”
