The Cleveland Guardians used hustle, small ball and stellar relief pitching to even up their American League Division Series with the New York Yankees following a 4-2, 10-inning victory in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium.

Jose Ramirez hit a popup double and made it to third following some shoddy defense by the Yankees and would eventually score the run that proved to be the difference.

"It's not an easy way to win, but it doesn't mean you can't", said Cleveland skipper Terry Francona. 

Closer Emmanuel Clase threw 2 1/3 innings in relief to pick up the win. It was the longest outing of the All-Star's career as he also threw 32 pitches.

Trevor Stephan and James Karinchak were solid out of the Guardians bullpen before Clase shut things down, combining for two innings of scoreless relief.

"We just try to find a way on base", said Josh Naylor. "If it's a bloop hit, it's a bloop hit. If it's a hard-hit, single, double, whatever the case, we just try to hustle, try to make things happen on the field, try to put pressure on the defense."

"Good starting rotation. A great bullpen. They got nasty stuff down there", said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

Judge has gone hitless through the first two games of the series, striking out seven times in nine plate appearances after setting the American League record with 62 home runs this season.

"Just a little late", he said. "When you're a little late, you're missing pitches that you usually do some damage on. You're swinging at stuff that you usually don't."

Guardinans snap skid against Yankees to even up series

In the earliest start to a playoff game at Yankee Stadium since Game 2 of the 2006 ALDS one night after the game was rained out, New York struck first when Giancarlo Stanton lined an opposite-field two-run homer off of Shane Bieber.

Cleveland got on the board against Yankees All-Star lefthander Nestor Cortes when Andres Gimenez singled home a run in the fourth and Amed Rosario tied things up with a solo shot in the fifth.

The New York starter made a fine defensive play in a critical situation as his acrobatic leap and throw to first base on a chopper by Myles Straw with the bases loaded kept the AL East champions ahead in the fourth.

"I'm supposed to make that play 100% of the time. Just a little bit more dramatic effect into it", he said. "The bounce pass was probably the best idea because if I were to get up and go, I probably would have been late."

Cortes was removed after five innings and Lou Trivino, Jonathan Loaisiga, Wandy Peralta and Clay Holmes combined for four scoreless innings.

Aaron Boone opted for starter Jamison Tallon in the tenth. The former Pirate was making his first career relief appearance after 143 big-league starts and his defense let him down.

Oswaldo Cabrera missed catching Ramirez's pop fly by inches and after Josh Donaldson retrieved it, he threw errantly to second, allowing a hustling Ramirez to slide into third.

Wild Card series hero Oscar Gonzalez blooped a ball between Judge and Gleyber Torres that scored Ramirez and Naylor added an RBI double to give the Guardians an insurance run.

Clase entered with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth and got out of the jam by getting catcher Kyle Higashioka to line out to Ramirez.

"It was preparing mentally and remembering when I was a starter in the minor leagues and try to do the same thing", he said through a translator.

Look ahead to Game 3

With the series now down to a best two of three, the scene shifts to Cleveland.

Luis Severino makes his first postseason start since 2019 after going 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA. He threw seven no-hit innings in his final start of the regular season in Texas.

The Guardians send Triston McKenzie to the mound. He shut down Tampa Bay over six innings in Game 2 of the Wild Card series and two-hit New York over seven in a 2-0 win on July 3rd.