Gerrit Cole shines, Yankees top Guardians to force Game 5

Gerrit Cole pitched seven innings, Harrison Bader hit a two-run home run and the visiting New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 Sunday night to even their American League Division Series at two games apiece. Game 5 is Monday at Yankee Stadium when Jameson Taillon starts for the Yankees and Aaron Civale starts for Cleveland in what likely will be a bullpen game, with a trip to Houston for the ALCS on the line. In his sixth career elimination start, Cole (2-0) allowed two runs on six hits. He struck out eight, walked one and threw 110 pitches -- eight shy of his season high. Cole's final pitch was a 97.5-mph fastball to pinch hitter Will Brennan to end the seventh with a strikeout. After stranding Andres Gimenez at second, Cole walked off the mound, shouted and pumped his fist multiple times. Cole's final pitches occurred as Clay Holmes began warming up after not being used in the ninth inning Saturday, when Wandy Peralta and Clarke Schmidt combined to allow three runs in a 6-5 Game 3 loss. Holmes issued a one-out walk to Steven Kwan but fanned Jose Ramirez on a slider to end the eighth. Peralta needed seven pitches in a 1-2-3 ninth for the save. Bader hit his third homer of the series and his second off Cal Quantrill (0-2) as the Yankees raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second. Anthony Rizzo hit an RBI single and Giancarlo Stanton lifted a sacrifice fly for the Yankees, who have scored 15 runs in the series. Jose Ramirez hit an RBI single for Cleveland's first run and Josh Naylor homered for the Guardians, whose two wins in the series have come in their last at-bats on go-ahead hits by rookie Oscar Gonzalez. Torres led off the game with a single, stole second when Aaron Judge struck out and just beat the relay throw on Rizzo's single to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. After Josh Donaldson opened the second with a single, Bader hit a first-pitch cutter into the left field seats. Ramirez's bloop single to left on an 0-2 pitch against the shift got Cleveland within one, but he overran first base and was easily thrown out to end the third. Naylor opened the fourth by hitting a 2-2 fastball to right-center, but Cole retired the next 10 hitters before Gimenez singled to center and advanced when Bader bobbled the ball for an error. Quantrill allowed three runs on four hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked one. --By Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media