Aaron Civale’s appearance in Game 5 of the ALDS on Tuesday between his Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees did not last long.
Civale was pulled from the game after allowing four of the first five batters to reach base. He walked Gleyber Torres on four straight pitches to start the game. Then he struck out Aaron Judge. But Civale hit Anthony Rizzo with a pitch, and then allowed the big blow — a 3-run home run to Giancarlo Stanton.
Giancarlo Stanton: 107.5 MPH, 379 feet, three runs. #Postseason pic.twitter.com/LUUDlY1bYv
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) October 18, 2022
Next up was Josh Donaldson, who reached on an infield single. After Donaldson reached, Cleveland manager Terry Francona pulled Civale from the game and inserted reliever Sam Hentges.
When Civale left the game, his team was down 3-0 and he was responsible for the runner on first with one out in the bottom of the first inning. That was hardly the start he wanted to make in a winner-take-all playoff game.
The winner of the game faces the Houston Astros in the ALCS.
