Game Four of ALCS Recap: Emmanuel Clase Loses Game Four

The Yankees got to our top guy. Again.

The Guardians took several haymakers from the Yankees tonight again, they still brought the winning run to the plate and couldn’t quite get it done, losing 8-6. Emmanuel Clase let his team and their fans down again in a way the team couldn’t undo this time.

Here’s the thing, folks. When it comes down to it, this team is plenty good enough to beat the Yankees. But, not when they don’t have the Emmanuel Clase who pitched for them in 2024. Why isn’t that Clase showing up? Why does he have no feel for his slider? Why isn’t he pitching right-handed hitters inside? Why was he sitting 97 mph for the first two hitters?

I can’t answer these questions. I’m not sure the Guardians or Clase will ever provide those answers. But, it’s a gut punch and another reminder of why you should not build your emotional or mental health around a sports team.

Gavin Williams went two and a third. He gave up three runs and struck out four. I think there is plenty to build on to hope Williams can be more than he was in 2024 in 2025. He got got by Juan Soto on a 98 mph fastball at the top of the zone for a two-run home run because Soto is a superhuman. Then, he put a fastball in a bad spot to Austin Wells for another home run. But, overall, no walks and holding his velocity. I see a lot of reason to hope that his next postseason start will be a lot better than today was. The Guardians, however, need more from their starters and no one but Matthew Boyd was able to provide it.

Of course, there are no guarantees that you will get another postseason start no matter who you are, so the Guardians fought back as they always do. A Jose Ramirez sacrifice fly scored the indomitable Steven Kwan in the bottom of the first after the Soto homer in the top of the inning. In the third, Josh Naylor got a clutch bloop single (on a pitch in the other batter’s box) after Wells’ homer in the top of the inning, to cut the deficit to one run.

Then, the reliever familiarity effect reared its ugly head with Cade Smith, whom the Yankees have now seen three straight games and two straight days. Smith’s velocity was down and his control was scattershot. Annoyingly, Giancarlo Stanton remains a playoff beast and, to make a long story short, he hit a three-run homer to score Soto and Aaron Judge who had walked and singled respectively. Smith didn’t have it tonight. He gets a mulligan, in my humble opinion, but he also probably should not pitch tomorrow.

The rest of the Guardians bullpen, with the aforementioned exception of Clase, were amazing. Erik Sabrowski was dominant for five outs and 29 pitches, Eli Morgan, Tim Herrin and Joey Cantillo threw a combined 2 and 2/3rds scoreless. And, Hunter Gaddis struck out the side in the eighth... the side was Gleyber Torres, Soto and Judge. Absolutely generational performance by Gaddis.

And, it felt HUGE at the time because the Guardians, the GUARDIANS, refused to give in and got the game to 6-5 with a Brayan Rocchio walk, a Steven Kwan single and, after a Fry walk, a clutch double from Ramirez and a second clutch double from Josh Naylor, both of whom came through in a big spot for their team, finally. Bo Naylor led off the bottom of the 8th with a double, and, after moving to third on a Rocchio groundout, scored on a David Fry squibber that pitcher Mark Leiter Jr (who was far more effective than the Yankees most trusted arms). To tie the game. The Guardians survived another time their best or second-best arm, Smith, got tagged by the Yankees and were set up for a walk-off.

But, then the Yankees got to Clase for two. Single for Rizzo (please, Anthony, retire), single for Anthony Volpe... and at this point, you know it’s a bad night when Clase can’t go inside and break Volpe’s bat. He’s also sitting at 97 mph here. He finds his 100 mph cutter to get Wells to strike out, but then Alex Verdugo reaches on a sawed-off infield hit. Rocchio made a silly error on it to not get Verdugo, but the run would have scored anyway. Rocchio disappointed me here, but it is far eclipsed by Clase. There is no way the Clase we all know gets got by both Rizzo and Volpe during the season. Does he struggle against the Yankees in specific? Is it New York’s special pitching robot that mimics arms specifically? I don’t know. But, Gleyber Torres followed with a second RBI single and made it look easy to get a base knock off of the best closer during the 2024 regular season.

I can’t explain it. Maybe he’s tipping pitches. Maybe he’s hurt. But, Occam’s Razor tells me that he’s just having a bad two week stretch that can happen to anyone. I don’t know him so I can’t tell you if that bad stretch is being influenced by the pressure of the situation. But, I am a naturally compassionate person so I think my primary concern is that Clase is going to be haunted by this. I hope the Guardians can help him, instead, use this as motivation to get even better and never let this happen again.

The Guardians STILL managed to get the winning run to the plate in two hitters in the bottom of the ninth because they just. do. not. know. when. to. quit. They weren’t helped by a blown strike call against Lane Thomas to lead off the inning. But, Jhonkensy Noel walked, Andres Gimenez singled and then Bo Naylor hit a ball 103 mph... but it was 337 feet to straight away center, landing harmlessly in Judge’s glove. Then, Brayan Rocchio grounded out to Jon Berti who flubbed it but Rocchio is distressingly slow, so Berti recovered and got him to end the game.

I am excited to go to the game tomorrow. My wife surprised me and got me a ticket. She will be putting our four kids down for the night by herself so that I can see this team play in person one more time. And I love her so much for that. I don't want this season to end, and I want them to force the Yankees to go back to New York. But, no matter how it ends, I am glad I got to root for this group of players.

I would like it if tomorrow we got a Pedro Avila start, followed by Eli Morgan and then Ben Lively because those are my comfort pitchers and the Yankees struggle with offspeed more than anything else. Give Smith, Herrin and especially Clase a break. Avila for 3, Morgan for 2, Lively for 2, Walters for 1, Gaddis for 1. We are getting a Bibee start which makes sense, he's your best starter. So, let's see him fight. Let's just see this team fight and try to make New York work extremely hard to get to a World Series. Make them fly back home and beat the Guardians there if they can.

I'm sad. But, I'm also still in awe of the fight in almost every person on this roster. I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow night and I'll be screaming my lungs out for them.