For Guardians’ Joey Cantillo, an unsettling wild welcome to the ALCS

NEW YORK Its a name you almost tremble to type.

But there it is, the answer to the question of the night from Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium: had any other pitcher before Joey Cantillo of the Cleveland Guardians ever served up four wild pitches in a postseason game? Advertisement Yes, just one: Rick Ankiel.

That was two dozen years ago, in a different playoff series opener, and Ankiel, a talented young lefty for the St.

Louis Cardinals , actually let loose five wild pitches .

His career as an effective pitcher ended abruptly with that sudden, sad spectacle.

So what do we make of Cantillo, a 24-year-old lefty who unraveled in the Guardians 5-2 loss to the Yankees on Monday? The first reliever summoned in this series from the majors best bullpen, Cantillo faced four batters, walking three and allowing those four wild pitches.

When Cantillo replaced Alex Cobb in the third inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Cleveland trailed 1-0.

One out into the fourth, it was 4-0.

Cantillos outing was the first in MLB history in which a pitcher issued three walks and four wild pitches while facing no more than four batters.

That performance was obviously the difference in the game, Cantillo said.

So thats on me.

In his corner of the Cleveland clubhouse, Cobb was having none of it.

He had his own control problems in Game 1, walking the bases loaded after Juan Soto s leadoff homer in that fateful third inning.

It was Cobbs mess that Cantillo was called to clean.

I talked to him a little bit afterwards; I feel responsible for him even having to be in that position in the first place, said Cobb, who dealt with back spasms and tightness in his surgically repaired hip.

Hes got a really good future ahead of him.

Going into bases loaded at Yankee Stadium in a playoff game is probably not ideal for anybody to have to go into, so I feel for him there.

But hes going to be fine.

The Yankees, who led the majors in walks this season, have never started a postseason walking this way.

They drew 27 walks in the division series against Kansas City , a club record for the first four games of a postseason.

In Game 1 against the Guardians, they walked seven more times, six in the nine-batter stretch that essentially decided the game.

Advertisement Against Cantillo, they had little choice but to take.

He threw 21 pitches, just seven for strikes.

His first three pitches, to Anthony Rizzo , were all in the dirt.

The first two wild pitches, which both brought in runs, came on fastballs.

The next was on a curveball, the last on a changeup.

It was a confounding night for catcher Bo Naylor , too.

You always look back and think about the things that you couldve done better, Naylor said.

A few of them were heaters which, at this level, with heaters of that velocity, youre just trying to get a glove on it and see if you can get it.

I think there was a changeup that got away from me, it just kind of stayed down, got through my legs.

But you take as much as you can.

You try to move forward and try to make the adjustments.

The Guardians could take comfort from the circumstances: theyll use their best starter, Tanner Bibee , in Game 2, with their top relievers Emmanuel Clase , Hunter Gaddis , Tim Herrin and Cade Smith all rested after heavy workloads in the last round.

But Cantillo, possibly in the short term and certainly beyond, must find a way to, well, shake it off .

To his credit, he answered every question on Monday and made no excuses, even when offered one.

Were nerves a factor at all, given the stakes and the setting? No, not necessarily, Cantillo said.

I think just coming into that spot, it was my job, obviously, to execute my pitch to each batter.

And I fell behind and didnt make my pitches and then one thing led to another.

Like I said, my performance was the difference in that game today.

So I live with that, and Im excited to watch all of us get after it tomorrow and the rest of the series.

The Guardians acquired Cantillo from San Diego in 2020, with first baseman Josh Naylor and three others, in a deal for starter Mike Clevinger .

Cantillo, a 16th-round draft choice from a high school in Hawaii in 2017, averaged nearly 12 strikeouts per nine innings before reaching the majors in July.

Advertisement In nine games (eight starts), he went 2-4 with a 4.89 ERA, then worked a scoreless inning in the division series.

The four wild pitches in Game 1 matched Cantillos total in 38 2/3 regular-season innings.

Hes going to be an anchor for years to come, said Matthew Boyd , a veteran Cleveland starter.

Hes a stud, a starter with four pitches.

It just happens; were human.

But hell be completely fine.

Hes been so good for us this year.

We wouldnt be here without him.

Cobb, like Boyd, predicted a long career for Cantillo, praising his accountability, maturity and work ethic.

Naylor, the catcher, said hed be just fine.

Joey is just not a guy I really worry about in terms of confidence or getting his mind back to the right spot, Naylor said.

He wants those moments, whether he comes out on the good end or the bad end, and he always looks for new ways to get better.

We just (have to) pick him up, let him know that this teams behind him at all times and let him take care of the rest.

Hes got a strong head on his shoulders.

And, you would hope, a very short memory.

(Top photo of Joey Cantillo and Stephen Vogt: Dustin Satloff / MLB Photos via Getty Images).

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