Jhonkensy Noel gives Cleveland life in ALCS
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Lorenzo Delgado, Contributor
- October 18, 2024
Jhonkensy Noel blast had Cleveland rocking
Jhonkensy Noel was Cleveland’s last hope Thursday night. Down two in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, the Guardians needed a Christmas miracle in October.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt called on Noel to hit for Daniel Schneemann. Noel was taking dry hacks on-deck after Lane Thomas roped a two-out double off the wall in left-center. Another loss against the Yankees would have put the Guardians a loss away from elimination.
Big Christmas, as his teammates and Guardians fans call him, watched a four-seam fastball off the plate for ball one. Noel sat on the next pitch, a 88-mph changeup, and crushed a game-tying two-run home run to the stands in left.
He tossed his bat, stared at the ball for a split second, and then put his head down. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder then jogged around the bases as the crowd of 32,531 fans at Progressive Field went into a frenzy. One inning later, David Fry hit a two-run, walk-off home run in the 10th inning to beat the Yankees 7-5.
A Big Christmas in Cleveland
“It’s always about the mindset,” Noel told the media afterward. “I try to play every single game. I’m ready to play every single game as it comes. That’s what made it easy for me to prepare on the go. And I was able to execute the pitch that I was looking for.”
Noel, 23, became the first rookie in MLB history to hit a game-tying or go-ahead home run with his team trailing in the ninth inning or later in postseason history. Prior to the at-bat, the Dominican slugger was 1-for-15 with one walk and six strikeouts in six postseason games.
Moreover, from August 31 to the end of the regular season, Noel was struggling at the plate. The native of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic was batting .113 with no home runs, and slugging .189.
“The thing I can say about Jhonkensy, no matter what, he was struggling, not struggling, you name it, he steps up and he gives you everything he has once he gets there, and he’s not sped up,” Vogt said. “He’s not afraid of the big moment. “We saw that in his debut. We’ve seen it time and time again. No bigger swing of the bat until that one in the 10th.”
Fry magic
The Yankees couldn’t score in the top of the 10th. Two-time Gold Glove winner Andres Gimenez made an incredible, 360-play in the hole in right to rob Jazz Chisholm Jr. of a hit.
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The Guardians’ Bo Naylor started the bottom of the 10th with a single to right. Brayan Rocchio then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Naylor into scoring position. Naylor moved to third on Steven Kwan’s ground out to the pitcher.
Fry, who pinch-hit for designated hitter Kyle Manzardo in the seventh, took care of the rest. He launched a walk-off blast reliever Clay Holmes to cut the Yankees’ lead in the best-of-seven ALCS to 2-1.
“Yeah, obviously Clay is a really tough at-bat, especially for a righty with that sinker-slider combo,” Fry said. “I guess … my second at-bat off of Weaver was no good at all. And I was just like, I just told God, like ‘Hey man, take this.’
“It’s a tough matchup. Just try to have fun. You take the at-bat, got behind in the count and just got a pitch up in the zone. And luckily it went out.”
David Fry trusted his faith
Fry loves embracing these type of moments. The 2024 All-Star catcher became the third player in franchise history to have a walk-off home run in the postseason. He joined five-time All-Star Tony Peña and Oscar Gonzalez.
In Game 4 of the Division Series against the Tigers, Fry came off the bench as a pinch-hitter. The Colleyville, Texas native gave the Guardians a go-ahead two-run homer and helped even the series. The Guardians ended up winning Game 5 of the ALDS and advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2016.
“Yeah, again, like I said, I try to give it to God, and I’m just trying to have the slowest heartbeat I can,” Fry said. “It’s tough in those situations to stay within yourself and just try to have a normal approach, but luckily tonight was a good one.”
The Guardians avoided a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS. Cleveland is a tough opponent when they play at home. The Guardians finished the regular season 50-30 at home for the best home record in the AL. The Yankees had the best away record in Major League Baseball at 50-31.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our guys,” Vogt said. “That’s exactly who we are. We never quit. We get punched in the teeth pretty hard there in the eighth, and our guys stepped up huge. … That was really fun to see.”
Lorenzo Delgado
Contributor
Lorenzo Delgado graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and is currently attending the University of Houston to earn his master’s degree. Lorenzo was formerly a contributing baseball writer for Call to the Pen on the Fansided Network. He is the host of an Astros baseball podcast called Full Seam Ahead, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and wherever podcasts are found.
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