An unsettling, wild welcome to the ALCS for Joey Cantillo of the Guardians

NEW YORK – It's a name that almost makes you tremble when you type it. But there it is, the answer to the question of the night from Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium: Has any other pitcher – before Joey Cantillo of the Cleveland Guardians – ever served four wild pitches in a postseason game?

Yes, just one: Rick Ankiel.

That was two dozen years ago, in another playoff series opener, and Ankiel, a talented young left-hander for the St. Louis Cardinals, actually let off five wild throws. His career as a successful pitcher ended abruptly with this sudden, sad spectacle.

So what do we think of Cantillo, a 24-year-old left-hander who was rattled in the Guardians' 5-2 loss to the Yankees on Monday? Cantillo, the first reliever called up from the majors' best bullpen this series, faced four batters, walked three and allowed those four wild pitches.

When Cantillo replaced Alex Cobb in the third inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Cleveland trailed 1-0. After one out in the fourth round the score was 4-0. Cantillo's 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 this is my fault.”

In his corner of the Cleveland clubhouse, Cobb was having none of it. He had his own control issues in Game 1 when he walked the bases after Juan Soto's leadoff home run in that fateful third inning. It was Cobb's mess that Cantillo was supposed to clean up.

“I spoke to him a bit afterwards; I feel responsible for him having to be in that position in the first place,” said Cobb, who has struggled with back spasms and tightness in his surgically repaired hip.

“He has a really good future ahead of him. Walking into packed bases at Yankee Stadium in a playoff game probably isn't ideal for anyone, so I feel bad for him there. But he’ll be fine.”

Cantillo pitches in the third inning of Game 1 of the ALCS against the Yankees. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)

The Yankees, who led the majors in walks this season, have never started a postseason walk this way. They tied 27 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, including six in the nine-batter stretch that essentially decided the game.

Against Cantillo they had no choice but to take. He threw 21 pitches, only seven of which were for strikes. His first three throws for Anthony Rizzo were all in the dirt. The first two wild pitches, both of which yielded runs, came on fastballs. The next one was a curveball, the last one was a changeup.

It was also a confusing evening for catcher Bo Naylor.

“You always look back and think about the things you could have done better,” Naylor said. “Some of them were heaters where at this level and at this speed, you're just trying to get a glove on it and see if you can get it done. I think there was a change that I missed, it just stayed down and seeped through my legs. But you take as much as you can. You try to move forward and make adjustments.”

Circumstances might give the Guardians some consolation: They'll be using their best starter, Tanner Bibee, in Game 2, while their top backup players – Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and Cade Smith – were all rested after the heavy workload in the last round.

But Cantillo needs to find a way to shake it off, perhaps in the short term and certainly beyond. To his credit, he answered every question on Monday and didn't make excuses even when offered one.

Were nervousness at all a factor given the stakes and the location?

“No, not necessarily,” Cantillo said. “I think when I just got to that point, obviously my job was to show every batter my pitch. And I fell behind and didn't move forward with my presentations, and then one thing led to another.

“Like I said, my performance made the difference in this game today. I live with it and look forward to seeing how we all strive for it tomorrow and throughout the rest of the series.”

The Guardians acquired Cantillo from San Diego in 2020, along with first baseman Josh Naylor and three others, as part of a deal for starter Mike Clevinger. Cantillo, a 16th-round draft pick out of a high school in Hawaii in 2017, averaged nearly 12 strikeouts per nine innings before reaching the majors in July.

In nine games (eight starts), he went 2-4 with a 4.89 ERA and then pitched a scoreless inning in the division series. The four wild pitches in Game 1 equaled Cantillo's total in 38 2/3 regular-season innings.

“He’s going to be an anchor for years to come,” said Matthew Boyd, a veteran Cleveland starter. “He’s a stud, a four-pitch starter. It just happens; we are human. But he will be completely fine. He's been so good for us this year. Without him we wouldn’t be here.”

Cobb predicted a long career for Cantillo, like Boyd, and praised his responsibility, maturity and work ethic. Naylor, the catcher, said he would be fine.

“Joey's just not the guy that I'm really worried about when it comes to his confidence or getting his mind back on track,” Naylor said. “He wants these moments whether he's doing well or not, and he's always looking for new ways to get better. We just have to pick him up, let him know that this team has his back at all times, and let him do the rest. He has a strong head on his shoulders.”

And hopefully a very short memory.

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