CLEVELAND — The Guardians wanted to turn the tide of the series in front of their home fans.
After dropping both Games 1 and 2 in New York, the Guardians and Yankees took the field for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series Thursday at Progressive Field with Cleveland needing a win.
The Guardians got it in dramatic fashion. A two-run pinch-hit home run tied the game in the ninth and a two-run walk-off home run won it in the 10th. Along the way Matthew Boyd delivered a much-need solid start and the Guardians overcame stunning back-to-back home runs by two Yankees stars in the eighth.
Here’s how a wild Game 3 unfolded through our live updates, highlights and analysis Thursday.
David Fry hits walk-off home run in 10th inning; Guardians win ALCS Game 3 over Yankees
With two outs, David Fry crushed a walk-off, two-run home run. The Guardians have won truly one of the wildest games you’ll ever see, 7-5. The Yankees lead the series 2-1.
That was an instant classic for the ages.
Bo Naylor leads off 10th inning with single; Guardians have winning run on base
Bo Naylor grounded a single to the right side off Clay Holmes, and the winning run is on base.
Brayan Rocchio laid down a bunt, and Naylor was moved to second base. Steven Kwan then grounded out to move him to third, 90 feet away.
Pedro Avila strikes out Anthony Volpe to end 10th inning; Guardians, Yankees still tied
Pedro Avila struck out Anthony Volpe and fist-pumped on the mound, and the Guardians have a chance to win it in the 10th inning, tied 5-5.
Clay Holmes is entering for the Yankees.
This is postseason baseball at its absolute best.
Andres Gimenez, Josh Naylor make highlight reel play in 10th inning of ALCS Game 3
Andres Gimenez and Josh Naylor just pulled off an insane play to steal a hit from Jazz Chisolm Jr.
Chisolm grounded a ball to the right side that appeared to be going for a single. Gimenez somehow got it, corralled it, turned and threw to first, and Naylor switched his feet in order to stay on the bag and catch it.
MLB postseason extra-inning rules
As a reminder, teams do not get the free runner in extra innings in the postseason.
ALCS Game 3 headed to extra innings; Guardians-Yankees score update
This is one of the most insane baseball games you’ll ever watch, and it just so happens to be Game 3 of the American League Championship series.
And now, it’s headed to extra innings tied 5-5. Jhonkensy Noel very likely saved the Guardians’ postseason hopes, at least momentarily, with an unbelievable swing of the bat.
Pedro Avila is entering the game in the 10th inning. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are due up.
There have been three absolute monster home runs in the last couple of innings, at least by the magnitude of each situation.
Jhonkensy Noel ties Game 3 with pinch-hit home run in 9th inning
No way.
With the Guardians down to their final out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jhonkensy Noel walked to the plate as a pinch-hitter and launched a score-tying, two-run home run. Progressive Field just about exploded as he rounded the bases.
The Guardians have some how tied it 5-5.
Jose Ramirez reaches on single; Josh Naylor up as potential tying run
The Guardians will bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth. Jose Ramirez singled on a ball to Anthony Rizzo to lead off the ninth.
Josh Naylor is due up, with Lane Thomas on deck.
Yankees add insurance run in eighth inning vs. Guardians
The Yankees made it a 5-3 score via a sacrifice fly off the bat of Gleyber Torres, and the Guardians will enter the bottom of the ninth inning down two runs.
The Yankees were caught in yet another baserunning mistake, but Anthony Volpe was able to safely make it into third base due to yet another Guardians defensive miscue.
Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor and Lane Thomas are due up to face Luke Weaver.
Luke Weaver strikes out David Fry to end eighth inning; Guardians-Yankees ALCS Game 3 score
With two runners on, Luke Weaver struck out David Fry on a check-swing to end the eighth inning.
The Guardians have three outs left to try to tie or win it. The aftershocks of the Judge-Stanton homers are still being felt. The stadium feels stunned.
Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge hit back-to-back home runs; Yankees lead ALCS Game 3
The Progressive Field crowd is absolutely stunned. Absolutely, thoroughly stunned.
After Aaron Judge’s two-run home run to tie it, Giancarlo Stanton drilled a go-ahead solo shot to center field. The back-to-back homers have given the Yankees their first lead of the night, and the Guardians are suddenly playing catch-up.
The pitch to Judge wasn’t bad, as it was a cutter on the outside part of the plate, and Judge put a great swing on it. The pitch to Stanton, though, was a slider right down the middle, and he drilled it over the center-field wall. The ball that Kerry Carpenter hit for a home run in the ALDS was also a slider.
The Yankees dugout went absolutely nuts after Stanton’s home run to take the lead. It was a moment of two of the game’s best hitters coming through in a massive moment.
Emmanuel Clase gave up five earned runs in the entirety of the regular season. He’s now been tagged for six earned runs in the postseason.
Aaron Judge homers off Emmanuel Clase to tie ALCS Game 3
That was wild.
With two strikes, Aaron Judge lined a two-run, score-trying home run that just barely cleared the right-field wall. Progressive Field is stunned again, Judge and the Yankees dugout are going wild.
That was just pure muscle vs. very high velocity, and Judge got just enough of it to get it out.
It’s tied 3-3 in the eighth inning.
Guardians bringing in Emmanuel Clase to face Aaron Judge
With two outs in the eighth inning, Juan Soto drew a walk, and the Guardians aren’t wasting time bringing in Emmanuel Clase. This will be Clase’s first appearance of the ALCS.
The last time Aaron Judge faced Hunter Gaddis, he hit a towering 414-foot home run. The Guardians aren’t letting that exact same scenario happen again.
Hunter Gaddis entering for Guardians in 8th inning of ALCS Game 3
The Guardians are turning to Hunter Gaddis with a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth inning.
The Yankees will pinch-hit Austin Wells to lead off the inning, and the top of the Yankees order will follow. Emmanuel Clase is already warming up and will be ready if Gaddis runs into trouble.
Andres Gimenez RBI single extends Guardians ALCS Game 3 lead over Yankees
A defensive miscue that was called a hit gave Lane Thomas second base. Thomas then stole third base, which was key, as it forced to bring the Yankees infield in with only one out away.
That led to Gimenez’s RBI single up the middle, which likely would have been a normal groundout if not for Thomas’ stolen base.
The Guardians lead 3-1 in the sixth inning.
Cade Smith retires Soto, Judge and Stanton on 10 pitches; Guardians-Yankees ALCS Game 3 score
Cade Smith continues to be a true weapon in the Guardians bullpen.
Smith faced Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in the sixth — arguably the most nerve-racking trio in any lineup right now — and faced very little resistance, recording a strikeout and two groundouts to get through the sixth inning with the Guardians still leading 2-1.
That was a high-leverage performance in a high-leverage spot to slice right through those three hitters.
Jose Ramirez hits 9th career postseason double, ties Sandy Alomar Jr. in Cleveland history
Jose Ramirez has tied Sandy Alomar Jr. atop Cleveland’s all-time rankings with his ninth career postseason double.
Ramirez doubled down the right-field line with two outs in the fifth, which was enough to end Clarke Schmidt’s day in favor of the lefty Tim Hill, who retired Josh Naylor via a flyout to end the inning.
The Guardians lead 2-1 heading to the sixth. Cade Smith is entering the game for Cleveland.
Matthew Boyd allows 1 run in 5 innings; Guardians-Yankees ALCS Game 3 score update
Matthew Boyd has again turned in a fantastic outing for the Guardians.
After throwing 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the postseason entering today, Boyd has allowed one run on two hits through five innings today, and has the Guardians leading the Yankees 2-1 in Game 3.
The Yankees have Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton due up in the sixth, and Cade Smith is warming, so there’s a good chance Boyd is done. If he is, this was another outstanding effort from Boyd, and it was exactly what the Guardians badly needed.
Guardians lead Yankees; ALCS Game 3 score
Matthew Boyd has allowed one run through the top of the fourth inning, and the Guardians have maintained a 2-1 lead heading to the bottom of the inning.
Boyd has again been solid for the Guardians, who could use some length from a starter for the first time in this series to alleviate some of the pressure on the bullpen.
Kyle Manzardo hits 2-run home run; Guardians lead Yankees in ALCS Game 3
Kyle Manzardo has given the Guardians their first lead of the ALCS.
With Rocchio on first, Manzardo drilled a two-run home run to right field off of Clarke Schmidt, giving the Guardians a 2-1 lead in the third inning.
That’s Manzardo’s first career postseason home run.
Brayan Rocchio has 8-game hitting streak in 2024 postseason, ALCS
Brayan Rocchio’s torrid October continued with a single in the third inning. He now has at least one hit in all eight postseason games, and he’s hitting .458 in the playoffs overall.
Clarke Schmidt has 6-pitch second inning; ALCS Game 3 score
Clarke Shmidt has a breeze second inning, needing only six pitches to retire the Guardians in order.
It’s 1-0 Yankees heading to the third.
Yankees take lead in second inning: Guardians-Yankees ALCS Game 3 score update
The Yankees have struck first for the third game in a row.
Anthony Volpe walked and was followed by Alex Verdugo, who chopped a double over the head of Josh Naylor at first base to put two runners in scoring position.
Jose Trevino then singled to right to score the first run of the day, but the Yankees then gave the Guardians a gift, as Trevino was picked off by Boyd, and New York went on to only score one run in the inning.
That’s the third Yankee baserunning blunder in their last 11 innings, which is a strange trend.
Guardians put two runners on, but ALCS Game 3 remains scoreless vs. Clarke Schmidt, Yankees
Steven Kwan drew a walk and Kyle Manzardo followed with a bloop single to right field, but Clarke Schmidt was able to recover, striking out Jose Ramirez and then with two outs retiring Lane Thomas via a groundout to end the inning.
Both offenses forced the opposing starter to work, but neither team has broken through yet in Game 3.
Guardians-Yankees ALCS Game 3 score: Matthew Boyd gets through first inning
Matthew Boyd had to work a bit, but he escaped the first inning unharmed.
Boyd walked both Gleyber Torres and later Giancarlo Stanton, but he also struck out Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisolm Jr. to end the inning.
Boyd needed 23 pitches to get through the first inning.
Below is some pregame information.
Guardians name Gavin Williams starting pitcher for ALCS Game 4
The Guardians are going with Gavin Williams in Game 4.
Cleveland Guardians ALCS Game 3 lineup vs. New York Yankees
- Steven Kwan, LF
- Kyle Manzardo, DH
- Jose Ramirez, 3B
- Josh Naylor, 1B
- Lane Thomas, CF
- Daniel Schneemann, RF
- Andres Gimenez, 2B
- Austin Hedges, C
- Brayan Rocchio, SS
New York Yankees ALCS Game 3 lineup vs. Cleveland Guardians
- Gleyber Torres, 2B
- Juan Soto, RF
- Aaron Judge, CF
- Giancarlo Stanton, DH
- Jazz Chisolm Jr., 3B
- Jon Berti, 1B
- Anthony Volpe, SS
- Alex Verdugo, LF
- Jose Trevino, C
Guardians have 4 Gold Glove finalists
The Guardians have four Gold Glove finalists, as announced Tuesday afternoon.
Guardians ALCS roster vs. New York Yankees
The Guardians made one change from their ALDS roster as they constructed their ALCS roster and announced it Monday morning.
How can I watch/stream/listen to Guardians-Yankees ALCS Game 3
Every game of the American League Championship Series will air on TNT and will simulcast on TBS and Max. The game will be broadcast over the radio via WMMS 100.7, WTAM 1100, WARF 1350 and ESPN Radio.
Guardians-Yankees ALCS schedule, game times
- Game 1: Cleveland Guardians at New York Yankees – Monday, Oct. 14, 7:38 p.m.
- Game 2: Cleveland Guardians at New York Yankees – Tuesday, Oct. 15, 7:38 p.m.
- Game 3: New York Yankees at Cleveland Guardians – Thursday, Oct. 17, 5:08 p.m.
- Game 4: New York Yankees at Cleveland Guardians – Friday, Oct. 18, 8:08 p.m.
- Game 5: New York Yankees at Cleveland Guardians – Saturday, Oct. 19, 8:08 p.m.*
- Game 6: Cleveland Guardians at New York Yankees – Monday, Oct. 21, 5:08 p.m.*
- Game 7: Cleveland Guardians at New York Yankees – Tuesday, Oct. 22, 7:38 p.m.*
