The New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians by a score of 5-2 in game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Monday.
After taking an early lead, the Yankees appeared to be in full control for the entirety of game 1.
Yankees pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts in the game, and they used 4 different pitchers to complete the victory.
Major League Baseball analyst Dan Plesac had a complementary statement about the new closer for the Yankees.
“Luke Weaver is the best reliever in the game of baseball right now,” Plesac said.
Weaver came into the game in the 8th inning with 1 out and a high-leverage situation for the Yankees.
Not only did Weaver get out of the 8th inning jam and complete the 5-out save, but he struck out 4 of the 5 batters that he faced.
Weaver became the first pitcher since Kenley Jansen in 2017 to record 3 saves that required more than just 1 inning pitched.
In his first-ever postseason, Weaver has appeared in 5 games and has a 0.00 earned run average with 9 strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched.
Clay Holmes began the season as the Yankees closer, but Weaver took over after Holmes began to struggle later on in the season.
The Yankees will look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead as game 2 will take place on Tuesday night.
After game 2 concludes, the series will move to Cleveland for game 3 on Thursday.
The Yankees are seeking their first World Series appearance since 2009 when they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in 6 games.
