After Yankees rattle Guardians star, he boldly brags about his feats

Even after a thrilling AL Championship Series Game 3 victory, Cleveland Guardians star closer Emmanuel Clase didn’t know what hit him. The lockdown relief ace helped turn what was heading toward a close victory into a playoff classic against the New York Yankees on Thursday when he gave up a game-tying, two-run home run to Aaron Judge and then the go-ahead home run to Giancarlo Stanton in the eighth inning in back-to-back at-bats. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE YANKEES NEWSLETTER: Clase entered the game with a 3-1 lead and he left trailing 4-3 to start a stunning turn of events that saw the Yankees extend their lead 5-3 and the Guardians tie it 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and then win it in the 10th inning 7-5. The 26-year-old star reliever appeared shellshocked even hours after the game ended. On his Instagram Story around midnight, he posted a 17-second video in which he flexed his accomplishments — including three All-Star team rings, American League Reliever of the Month awards and a 150-save plaque among others. Clase also won the Mariano Rivera Award for Reliever of the Year in 2022, though it was hard to notice if he included that in his video because he panned quickly through it all. He captioned the video, “Hablamos mañana.. Goodnight” with a fire emoji and OK hand sign emoji. (Hablamos mañana translates into “Let’s talk tomorrow.”) “I think there’s one person that could hit that pitch (a 99 mph cutter) off Emmanuel Clase out of the yard, and he did,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told reporters. “As a baseball fan, it was really cool. As the opposing manager, it was not.” Close has been one of the game’s best relievers over the past four seasons. In that time, over 289 1/3 innings, he has a 1.62 ERA, 157 saves, 281 strikeouts and a 0.87 WHIP. He also has allowed 11 total home runs, two of which came during the 2024 regular season when he posted a 0.61 ERA and a league-leading 47 saves, an accomplishment he has achieved for three years in a row. But he has not had the same level of success in these playoffs. On Thursday, he allowed multiple home runs for the first time in his career, for his first blown save in four postseason chances. Clase took a loss in Game 2 of the AL Division Series against the Detroit Tigers when he allowed three earned runs on four hits, including a home run. And he got a save in Game 4 of that series despite giving up an earned run. In these playoffs, he has given up six earned runs in six innings. “We couldn’t have asked for anything more from Emmanuel all year and he is going to be right back out there in the ninth tomorrow night,” Vogt said. “He’s human.” Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.