When Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt needs outs at the end of a game, he never hesitates to put the ball in the hands of his ace reliever Emmanuel Clase.
But last night (Thursday) against the New York Yankees, for the second time in the series, the big right-hander failed.
The Guardians had a 92.9 percent chance of winning when Gleyber Torres grounded out for second in the top of the eighth inning. But after Hunter Gaddis Juan Soto left, the captain Cleveland has the best reliever in franchise history to contend with American League MVP Aaron Judge.
Then the unthinkable happened, again, with Judge tying the game with an opposite field homer.
But believe it or not, Cleveland still had a 58 percent chance to win when the game was tied at 3-3.
That, however, was before Giancarlo Stanton stepped up to the plate and sent Clase’s shot wide of center field for a solo long ball.
Clase has allowed more earned runs (6) in five postseason appearances than he allowed in 74 regular season games (5). He also allowed three homers in October after allowing just two the entire regular season.
In fact, all major baseball teams would like to have Clase in their ranks, but so far, the latter has not met expectations.
Maybe she should focus on her fall dance performance instead of exposing her personal exploits to the public, who knows? Especially after a disastrous exit…
If the Guardians want to win the World Series this year, they need an Emmanuel Clase fully dedicated to the cause.