By Tyler Kepner, Chris Kirschner, Brendan Kuty and Zack Meisel

The New York Yankees clinched first place in the American League Championship Series on Monday, using a familiar formula with a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in the Bronx.

They got six strong innings from their starter Carlos Rodón. They drew six walks in a span of nine batters in the third and fourth innings. They got home runs from two of their top hitters, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, and outstanding relief from Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver, who picked up the final five outs for the save.

After a shaky night on the mound on Monday – reliever Joey Cantillo had four wild pitches, an AL record for a postseason game – the Guardians will rely on their ace, Tanner Bibee, and a new bullpen in Game 2 on Tuesday. But they face the Yankees' best starter, Gerrit Cole, who had a strong performance in the deciding game of the division series last week in Kansas City.

The Generation Juan. pic.twitter.com/GFH08rJE0f

– New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 15, 2024

Salvation for Rodon

Rodón noted that Gerrit Cole was a “robot” in Game 4 of the American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals. Rodón wanted to be more like Cole when he took the ball in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. He needed to better control his emotions, something he couldn't do in Game 2 of the ALDS. On Monday, Rodón was an emotionless strike machine.

Rodón delivered a masterful performance against the Guardians, going six innings while holding them to just three hits and one run, which came on a solo home run from shortstop Brayan Rocchio in the sixth. Rodón posted nine strikeouts and 25 swings-and-misses, the most by a Yankees pitcher in the postseason, during the pitch tracking era (2008).

The Yankees debated between starter Rodón and Clarke Schmidt for Game 1. They ultimately chose Rodón because they felt his arsenal would play well against the Guardians, despite being one of MLB's best teams against lefties in the regular season were.

It didn't matter. Rodón delivered an outing that reminded the Yankees why they paid him $162 million two offseasons ago.

Guards suffer pitching hell in the inning

Here's how the third inning went for Cleveland: home run, walk, a short delay for the trainers to check on Cobb, strikeout, walk, flyout, walk, pitching change, a run-scoring wild pitch, walk, another run -Scoring wild pitch, crossed out. That's three runs in one hit, and most of the Yankees' batters had to just stand in the batter's box and not move. Cobb exited after 2 2/3 innings after throwing 65 pitches.

Cantillo, whose first throw in warmups hit the backstop, had no command in a spot that left no room for error. Only seven of his 21 throws were strikes. The rookie faced four batters, issued three walks and threw four wild pitches, the same number he struck out in 38 2/3 innings during the regular season.

The Guardians leaned on their bullpen to push past the Detroit Tigers in five games in the ALDS, and for good reason. Cleveland's relievers posted the best ERA in the league, more than half a run better than any other bullpen. But to survive a seven-game series against the Yankees, they will need more skill from their starters. If there's a bright spot in the Game 1 loss, it's that Pedro Avila — who was added to the ALCS roster after serving as head cheerleader during the ALDS — went 2 2/3 innings in relief of Cantillo . This meant that coach Stephen Vogt was without his four most important substitutes: Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase.

The Yankees are following the right plan

Whatever script the Yankees wrote for Game 1, it probably wasn't any better than how things actually turned out for them.

They achieved perhaps Rodón's best performance in the pinstripe jersey. They put pressure on Cobb early, striking him out after 2 2/3 innings, and they avoided having to face Cade Smith and Emmanuel Clase, the best guys in the Guardians' strong bullpen.

Their big bats also played leading roles. Soto opened the scoring with a solo home run in the third inning against Cobb, which he owned the night earlier in his career. Aaron Judge contributed a sacrifice fly and scored a run. Stanton hit a solo home run to extend the lead to 5-1 in the seventh inning. Even Anthony Rizzo contributed with a single up the middle on his first at-bat and a walk – the two broken fingers on his right hand that kept him out of the ALDS clearly didn't bother him much. Yes, two of the Yankees' runs were wild, but they put themselves in a position to capitalize on Cleveland's mistakes.

Stan from me. pic.twitter.com/LTvFe0phAA

– New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 15, 2024

Things got hairy in the eighth when Tim Hill gave up three straight one-out singles and was hit by a runner interference call, leading to the Guardians scraping together a run. But then Weaver entered the game with runners on the corners and immediately got pinch-hitter Will Brennan out and future Hall of Famer José Ramírez out to end the threat. Weaver earned a walk to pitch a mostly easy ninth inning and his fourth save of the playoffs.

For the Yankees, winning Game 1 at home was huge — and the way they did it was just as important. It was intended to serve as a blueprint for the rest of the ALCS.

The command of the middle of the Guardians remains cold

The middle third of Cleveland's team – José Ramírez, Lane Thomas and Josh Naylor – combined to go 0-for-11. Obviously, Thomas delivered two of the most significant shots of the season for the Guardians during the ALDS. However, Ramírez and Naylor have not yet found a rhythm in October.

Instead, the small offense that Cleveland produced came from two familiar sources: leadoff hitter Steven Kwan and No. 9 hitter Brayan Rocchio, who each had at least one hit in all six of the Guardians' playoff games. Rocchio singled to left field in the sixth. In the eighth, he hit a single and advanced to second base because pitcher Tim Hill blocked his path near first base. (After the verdict, fans directed a chant about lower body anatomy to first base umpire Dan Iassogna.) Rocchio had eight hits in 19 at-bats this postseason. Lonnie Chisenhall (2013-16) and Jhonny Peralta (2007) tied the franchise record with his six-game hitting streak early in his postseason career. Rocchio never had a hitting streak that lasted longer than four games during the regular season.

The Yankees' strange late defensive replacement

Oswaldo Cabrera came on for Anthony Rizzo in defense in the ninth inning. Before the game, Rizzo said he needed to manage his pain tolerance as he recovers from two broken fingers on his right hand.

Cabrera is no better defender than the former Gold Glove winner. There was no word on why Rizzo was withdrawn, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone will be asked about it in his postgame press conference.

(Top photo by Carlos Rodón: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)