Five games. One walk-off loss that snapped a record that had stood the entire history of the franchise. And a trade-deadline pickup who turned into the most unlikely postseason hero the 2022 New York Yankees had. The 2022 ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians was supposed to be a formality for a 99-win division champion. It wasn't that. It was five days of held breath, and the Yankees survived it 3-2.
The Setup
The Yankees came in as the #2 seed in the American League, fresh off a 99-63 season built on Aaron Judge's 62-homer MVP run. Cleveland arrived as the #3 seed at 92-70 -- a young, contact-heavy roster that didn't hit for much power but wouldn't beat itself either. Because the Yankees held the higher seed, the series ran on a 2-2-1 format -- Games 1, 2, and a possible Game 5 at the Stadium, with only Games 3 and 4 shifting to Progressive Field.
On paper this looked lopsided. It didn't play that way for one single game.
Game 1: Cole and the New Guy
Gerrit Cole took the ball for Game 1 and was excellent -- 6.1 innings, one run, eight strikeouts. Steven Kwan got Cleveland on the board first with a solo homer in the third. Harrison Bader, the outfielder the Yankees had acquired at the deadline for Jordan Montgomery (a trade that looked like pure center-field defense at the time), answered immediately with a solo shot of his own in his first postseason at-bat as a Yankee. Anthony Rizzo put it away with a two-run blast into the second deck in right in the sixth. Final: Yankees 4, Guardians 1.
Nobody knew it yet, but that Bader home run was the first note of a song that was about to get very loud.
Game 2: A Reliever Named Taillon
Nestor Cortes started Game 2 opposite Shane Bieber and was sharp early -- two scoreless innings on just 21 pitches, ten of his first thirteen batters retired. Giancarlo Stanton had already given the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the first, hitting a two-run homer on the very next pitch after a check-swing got called a strike instead of a walk. (Small moments like that decide these things. They always do.)
Cleveland found Cortes in the fourth -- an RBI single from Andrés Giménez, then a game-tying solo homer off the bat of Amed Rosario. 2-2. It stayed that way into extra innings, and that's when things got strange: manager Aaron Boone brought in Jameson Taillon to open the 10th, the first relief appearance of Taillon's seven-year career. José Ramírez lined a ball down the third-base line that fell for a double plus an error, Óscar González singled him home for the lead, and Josh Naylor doubled in an insurance run. Emmanuel Clase slammed the door. Guardians 4, Yankees 2. Series tied at a game apiece.
Game 3: The Streak Ends
This was the gut-punch game.
Aaron Judge homered. Bader homered again -- a no-doubt solo shot in the seventh, 109.7 mph off the bat, 411 feet, extending a 5-3 Yankees lead. Everything pointed toward a 2-1 series edge heading back to the Bronx.
Then the ninth happened.
Before this game, the Yankees had been 167-0 in franchise postseason history when entering the ninth inning with a multi-run lead. Boone had already used Lou Trivino, Jonathan Loáisiga, and Wandy Peralta earlier in the game, and turned to rookie Clarke Schmidt to close it out rather than his actual closer. Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario reached. With two outs and two strikes, González -- who'd already burned Tampa Bay with a 15th-inning walk-off in the Wild Card round -- lined a single up the middle to score both runners. Guardians 6, Yankees 5, walk-off. A perfect 167-0 record, gone in one at-bat.
Clay Holmes never got up. Boone said afterward he was holding his closer for an emergency only. Holmes told reporters he was surprised he didn't get the call and felt available. It hung over the team for exactly one day.
Game 4: Cole Again, Bader Again
The Yankees needed a stopper, and Cole was it. Seven innings, six hits, two earned runs, eight strikeouts -- his second win of the series. Rizzo drove in a run in the first. Bader went deep again in the second, a two-run shot off Cal Quantrill that made it three home runs for the series (tying Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill for the second-most by a Yankee in any best-of-five postseason series -- only Giancarlo Stanton's four in the 2020 ALDS stands above it). Stanton added a sixth-inning sac fly for good measure. Yankees 4, Guardians 2. Series tied 2-2, winner-take-all back at the Stadium.
A guy the Yankees got for Jordan Montgomery six weeks earlier was now one home run behind the franchise record for a division series. Baseball is very stupid sometimes, in the best way.
Game 5: The Short-Rest Gamble
Game 5 was supposed to happen on a Monday. Rain pushed it to Tuesday, and that extra day changed everything -- Boone bumped Cortes up to start on three days' rest instead of the previously scheduled Jameson Taillon.
It worked immediately. Stanton crushed a three-run homer off Aaron Civale just 21 pitches into the game, and Cleveland never came close to answering it. Judge added a solo shot in the second. Cortes went five scoreless on three hits. Loáisiga, Holmes -- back in the mix after Game 3's benching -- and Peralta combined for four more scoreless innings behind him. Rizzo, Bader, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa all took a pitch off somewhere along the way, which felt about right for how physical this series had gotten. Final: Yankees 5, Guardians 1. Series win, 3-2.
What It All Meant
The Yankees needed every one of those five games to beat a team with less name-brand talent and a lot more bullpen depth than they were given credit for. Cole won both of his starts. Cortes started twice, including once on short rest that Boone didn't have to make but did anyway. And Harrison Bader -- hurt half the summer, traded for a guy who was pitching well for St. Louis at the time, barely two months removed from the injured list as a Yankee -- hit three home runs and looked like he'd been doing this his whole career.
None of it mattered four days later. The Yankees walked into the ALCS against Houston and got swept in four straight without much of a fight. But that's a different story, and a much sadder one. This one, at least, ended with the Yankees standing.
| Series Result | Yankees 3, Guardians 2 |
| Harrison Bader (ALDS) | 3 HR in 5 games |
| Gerrit Cole (2 starts) | 2-0, 13.1 IP, 3 ER, 16 K |
| Nestor Cortes (2 starts) | Games 2 and 5, win in Game 5 on 3 days' rest |
| Game 3 Walk-Off | Guardians 6, Yankees 5 (snapped 167-0 franchise record) |
| Yankees 2022 Record | 99-63, AL East champions |
Game 1: Cole and Bader Deliver
Gerrit Cole strikes out eight over 6.1 innings. Harrison Bader homers in his first postseason at-bat as a Yankee, Anthony Rizzo adds a two-run shot. Yankees 4, Guardians 1.
Game 2: Taillon's Relief Debut Goes Wrong
Nestor Cortes starts and leaves tied 2-2. Jameson Taillon, in his first career relief appearance, allows the go-ahead runs in the 10th. Guardians 4, Yankees 2. Series tied 1-1.
Game 3: The 167-0 Streak Ends
Judge and Bader homer to build a 5-3 ninth-inning lead. Óscar González's two-out, two-run single off Clarke Schmidt walks it off. Closer Clay Holmes never enters the game. Guardians 6, Yankees 5. Cleveland leads 2-1.
Game 4: Cole and Bader Save the Season
Gerrit Cole allows two runs over seven innings for his second win of the series. Bader's third home run of the ALDS ties him with Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill for second-most in a Yankees best-of-five series. Yankees 4, Guardians 2. Series tied 2-2.
Game 5: Cortes on Short Rest Closes It
Rained out from Monday, Boone starts Cortes on three days' rest. Giancarlo Stanton's first-inning three-run homer off Aaron Civale stands as the winner. Yankees 5, Guardians 1. Yankees win the series 3-2 and advance to face Houston in the ALCS.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2022 ALDS between the Yankees and Guardians?
The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 3 games to 2 in the 2022 American League Division Series. The Yankees won Games 1, 4, and 5; the Guardians won Games 2 and 3, including a walk-off win in Game 3.
How many home runs did Harrison Bader hit in the 2022 ALDS?
Harrison Bader hit three home runs across the five-game series -- a solo shot in Game 1, a solo shot in Game 3, and a two-run homer in Game 4. It tied him with Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill for the second-most home runs by a Yankee in a best-of-five postseason series, one behind Giancarlo Stanton's four in the 2020 ALDS.
What happened in Game 3 of the 2022 Yankees-Guardians ALDS?
The Yankees carried a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning but lost 6-5 on a two-out, two-run walk-off single by Óscar González off reliever Clarke Schmidt. It snapped a run of 167 straight postseason wins for the Yankees when entering the ninth inning with a multi-run lead. Closer Clay Holmes didn't pitch in the game.
Who started Game 5 of the 2022 ALDS for the Yankees?
Nestor Cortes started Game 5 on three days' rest, a late call by manager Aaron Boone over the originally scheduled Jameson Taillon. Rain had pushed Game 5 from Monday, October 17 to Tuesday, October 18, and that extra day made the short-rest start possible. Cortes threw five scoreless innings in a 5-1 win.
Did the Yankees advance past the Guardians in 2022?
Yes. The Yankees beat the Guardians 3-2 in the ALDS and advanced to the ALCS, where they were swept in four games by the Houston Astros.