CLEVELAND — The sixth inning arrived in Game 4 of the ALCS between the Yankees and the Guardians, and it was once again rookie right-hander Cade Smith’s turn to pitch for Cleveland.
For the third time in three games, Smith was summoned by manager Stephen Vogt to handle the monster middle of New York’s batting order: Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. It’s a tall task on paper for any reliever, but Smith’s sensational debut campaign as Cleveland’s breakout bullpen ace had instilled ample confidence that the hard-throwing 25-year-old would be up for the challenge, if even on multiple occasions.
“He’s the best strikeout reliever we have, and in that situation, I trust Cade to make pitches there,” manager Stephen Vogt said afterward. “He’s been doing it all year.”
In Game 2 in the Bronx, Smith entered in the second inning to face Judge with the bases loaded after Vogt intentionally walked Soto with first base open and one out. Smith held Judge to a sac fly before striking out Austin Wells to end the frame and coaxing a groundout from Stanton in the following inning.
In Game 3 on Thursday — a couple of innings before the unforgettable roller-coaster ride began in earnest — Smith entered with a one-run lead in the sixth and retired Soto, Judge and Stanton on 10 pitches, including a strikeout of Judge with a gnarly splitter.
On Friday in Game 4, which the Yankees eventually won 8-6, a similar assignment arose: Soto was again leading off the sixth, followed by Judge, new cleanup hitter Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Stanton if a baserunner were to reach. This time, Cleveland trailed by a run, with Smith entering in hopes of preventing New York’s best bats from extending their lead.
That’s not what happened. Soto drew a five-pitch walk to lead off the frame. Judge followed with a quick single to left. Chisholm bunted them to second and third on a sacrifice. All of which set up Stanton and his team-leading OPS coming to the plate with one out and two in scoring position.
Smith offered four straight fastballs — all four-seamers that usually average 96 mph but were maxing out at 94 on this night — and on a 1-2 count, Stanton drilled a no-doubter to left-center field, making it 6-2 Yankees.
With each passing game and each additional trot from the bullpen to dive headfirst into the pressure cooker that is baseball’s postseason, relievers begin to wear down. At the same time, hitters — with each additional look at arms against whom they…