“It's definitely an option”: The Guardians don't rule out the possibility of getting the ace back in the ALCS after a short break

But Bibee wouldn't be the one to throw that pitch, as he was lifted in favor of Cade Smith after a career-low 1 1/3 innings. Bibee said he didn't expect the call to accompany Soto and load the bases for Judge, nor the early exit.

“No, not at all,” Bibee said. “My job is to get the guy out. I don't really care who it is at this point. I mean, whether it’s a smart move or not, that’s not my job.”

Vogt said the decision to bring Smith into the game in the second inning was based on trying to keep things from starting too early.

“Cade has done a great job of doing that all year, and he did it again tonight in a big situation,” Vogt said.

After Judge drove in New York's third run with an RBI sacrifice fly to center, Smith struck out Austin Wells to end the inning. Vogt said the Guardians were able to hold New York down for a while after Bibee's departure and gave themselves opportunities to rebound, but were unable to score a big hit.

Vogt stated that Cleveland's confidence in Bibee remained intact despite the move.

“Tanner is our guy, and he was a little off tonight,” Vogt said. “We saw that from the first inning. In a game like today where we have the bullpen ready to go, I felt like we had to stop him and we did.”

Bibee told reporters afterward that he felt like his stuff looked good and that he performed pretty well. He clearly didn't want to leave the game as early as he did.

“It’s tough,” Bibee said. “Of course you don’t want to go out like that, but there’s nothing you can do about it now.”

Bibee was charged in the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts. It is the shortest appearance of his major league career, be it in the regular season or postseason. His previous low was 3 2/3 innings on May 8, 2023 against Detroit.

After throwing just 39 pitches, Bibee said that if he had to guess, he could return quicker than waiting for a start on normal rest, but he couldn't assess his status until Wednesday. Vogt said Bibee's return on short rest is one of the things Cleveland will talk about on the series-off day when the Guardians regroup at home.

“It's definitely an option we'll discuss after we see how Tanner feels,” Vogt said. “I know Tanner didn’t throw the ball the way he wanted to tonight, but if we get him out sooner we might have a chance to get him back quicker.”

The Guardians, meanwhile, have not yet named a starting pitcher for Game 3. Matthew Boyd is willing to pitch during the regular break, but Vogt mentioned in his pregame remarks that Gavin Williams, who has yet to play in the postseason, could also be an option.

Vogt said the club plans to announce a starter for Game 3 on Wednesday. Whoever it is, Vogt insisted that that pitcher give Cleveland as many innings as possible.

“Our goal is always for our starter to play deep,” said Vogt. “And we’ll look at it and see what happens.”