NEW YORK—Gerrit Cole cruised for most of the night, Harrison Bader and Anthony Rizzo homered and the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 4–1 on Tuesday in their AL Division Series opener.
Not even another Josh Donaldson base-running blunder could slow the Yankees, who have won six straight postseason games against Cleveland dating to a comeback from a 2–0 deficit in the 2017 Division Series.
After rookie Steven Kwan put the Guardians ahead with a third-inning homer, Cole escaped a bases-loaded jam later in the inning by striking out Andrés Giménez.
Cole allowed just two more runners, on a single and his only walk, and got the win in his first postseason game for the Yankees in the Bronx. He left after giving up one run and four hits in 6 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts….