Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m glad the Yankees-Guardians was the first game yesterday. I don’t know how I could have slept after that.

In today’s SI:AM:

🫨 Cleveland’s stunning comeback
👋 Tony Bennett calls it quits
🤔 Time for the WNBA to dream big

If you watched Game 3 of the ALCS between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday and thought, “Wow, I’ve never seen a baseball game like this,” you’re right. There has literally never been a game like this in the history of Major League Baseball.

To recap: The Guardians took a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning and brought in big-time setup man Hunter Gaddis to protect the lead. He got the first two outs of the inning but was retired after issuing a walk to Juan Soto so closer Emmanuel Clase could face Aaron Judge. Judge hit a wall-scraping home run to tie the game – the second home run Clase gave up this postseason after allowing two home runs throughout the regular season. Then Giancarlo Stanton Judge followed with a home run of his own to take the lead.

It was a stunning turn of events, but it paled in comparison to what the Guardians did in response. After New York scored a game-winning run in the top of the ninth, Yankees closer Luke Weaver allowed a two-out double to Lane Thomas in the bottom of the inning, allowing pinch-hitter Jhonkensy Noel to plate for the game-winning run . Noel hit a no-doubt home run that tied the game 5-5 in extra innings. Finally, with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, David Fry hit a walk-off home run off Clay Holmes to give Cleveland a 7-5 victory.

Can you remember the last time you saw a game like this? No, you can’t do that. That’s because it was the first game in MLB history – regular season or postseason – to feature four game-winning or game-tying home runs with two outs in the eighth inning or later. according to OptaStats.

It would have been a wild way to end a game if it had happened on a Wednesday in June. That this happened in October and helped Cleveland avoid falling into a nearly insurmountable 0-3 hole involving so many of the game’s biggest stars is nothing short of incredible. There have been many exciting games this postseason, but none as dramatic as this one.

Not convinced? Here are a few more stats about how crazy this game was:

The other aspect of the Guardians’ win that can’t be overlooked is the fact that Cleveland was down 2-0 in the series. Teams that lose the first two games of a seven-game series don’t often come back to win. Only 15 of the 91 teams that lost the first two games made the comeback. Even though the odds weren’t in Cleveland’s favor anyway, a 3-0 deficit would have essentially been a death sentence. Only one team in 40 has overcome a 3-0 deficit (the Boston Red Sox, against the Yankees in the ALCS 20 years ago).

With that in mind, it’s no exaggeration to say that Noel and Fry’s home runs saved the Guardians’ season. Without her, the series would have essentially been over. But now? It’s just beginning.

…things I saw last night:

5. Shohei Ohtanis Leadoff home run.
4. Mookie Betts’ big night for the Dodgers: 4-for-6 with a home run, a double and four RBIs.
3. The reaction From a room full of eighth graders from the Cleveland area to Jhonkensy Noel’s game-winning home run.
2. This side by side video from Noel and David Fry almost identical bat flips.
1. The Spanish reputation of Noel’s home run by Guardians radio announcers Rafa Hernández-Brito and Carlos Baerga.