Going into the 2022 MLB season as a New York Yankees fan, if I were offered a bet that the season would come down to ALDS Game five against the Guardians in the Bronx, I would have taken it every day of the week, already counting my payout. Even now when the scenario is a reality, I am still confident in the Yankees’ ability to win big or go home. With the delay of Game five pushed back from Monday night to Tuesday, this extra day gave both bullpens another day of needed rest for this all hands on deck game. 

The starters for both teams were originally supposed to be Jameson Taillon for New York and Aaron Civale for Cleveland. With the extra day’s rest, The Yankees decided to go with Nestor Cortes Jr. The Guardians were expected to throw out Shane Bieber after three days of rest, but decided to stay with Civale for the start. 

In his second start of the series, Nestor was better than his first. Again throwing five strong innings, this time only allowing one run and four total base runners in five total innings of work. Aaron Civale, however, had a nightmare start only recording one out before getting pulled with the stat line of 0.1 innings pitched and three runs scored, mainly on a Giancarlo Stanton homer. This was a huge play on the scoreboard, as the Cleveland Guardians have had much trouble scoring and have to manufacture runs any way they can. This one swing got the jungle rocking in the Bronx for the rest of the game. 

The Yankees continued their usual ways from an Aaron Judge home run in the second inning, to make it a 4-0 game. Eventually the Yankees would win by a final of 5-1. After a quick celebration, the team now advances to the ALCS for round three against the Houston Astros.