NEW YORK (AP) — Sloppy play has the Cleveland Guardians facing a big deficit the American League Championship Series.
Cleveland’s rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio and right fielder Will Brennan committed costly errors Tuesday night, allowing runs to score as the New York Yankees beat the Guardians 6-3 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Guardians are playing in their sixth ALCS and face a two-game deficit for the first time as the series shifts to Cleveland for Game 3 on Thursday night after an off day.
Rocchio, who committed 12 errors in 462 chances during the regular season, dropped a pop up off the bat of slugger Aaron Judge in the first inning, allowing New York’s first run to score. With runners on second and third, Rocchio took several steps to the right side of the infield and was to the right side of second when Judge’s pop-up caromed off the webbing of his glove and allowed Gleyber Torres to score, putting Cleveland in an early hole.
“Obviously I wasn’t able to catch it,” Rocchio said through a translator. “No excuse, I need to make that play, but I think I was in position the best way because I thought I was under the ball and (at the) last minute I was leaning towards second base.”
Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt didn’t think it was an easy play.
“That ball was up in the air for quite a while with the wind, tough play,” Vogt said. “Those things happen.”
Brennan, who made a sliding catch in foul territory on Giancarlo Stanton for the second out of the first inning, struggled to play a carom on a double by Anthony Rizzo in the sixth after Cleveland had cut its deficit to 3-2 an inning earlier.
Rizzo’s line drive that bounded off the low side wall and deflected to Brennan. The ball went off Brennan’s hand and that allowed Anthony Volpe to score from first, extending New York’s lead to 4-2.
“I just kind of sped up knowing that Volpe can run a little bit,” Brennan said. “Just kind of misplayed it a little bit some. Something I don’t normally do and it just happened to happen in that situation.”
Brennan played 80 of his 98 games in right field and committed two errors in 132 chances during the regular season. Overall, he committed two errors in 161 chances.
The miscues by Rocchio and Brennan came after Cleveland committed just one error in its first six postseason games.
“We didn’t play Cleveland baseball today,” left fielder Steven Kwan said. “We got a couple of errors. Obviously we pride ourselves on our defense. So if we want to win some games, we’re going to have to play Guard ball.”
The Guardians committed 87 errors in the regular season and were tied with Tampa Bay for ninth in the American League.
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