Cal Quantrill ready to take ball for Guardians with chance to eliminate Yankees in ALDS

CLEVELAND — The Guardians enter Sunday with an opportunity to eliminate the New York Yankees from the 2022 playoffs.

Guardians manager Terry Francona is giving the ball to right-hander Cal Quantrill for Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Progressive Field at 7:07 p.m. after a dramatic 6-5 win over the visiting Yankees in Game 3 on Saturday night.

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Quantrill knows all about winning at Progressive Field with a 14-0 career record in the stadium.

Five-time All-Star Gerrit Cole will take the mound for the Yankees against Quantrill in the best-of-five series.

The 14 wins without a loss for Quantrill at Progressive Field surpassed Charles Nagy’s 13 wins without a loss from July 3, 1995-June 21, 1996, for the longest pitcher win streak in ballpark history. The venue was named Jacobs Field in the mid 90s.

Quantrill spoke with media members ahead of Game 3 Saturday and was asked if he is a superstitious guy.

Quantrill’s response: “Not particularly. Or I don’t — at least relative to my peers, I would not say I’m a superstitious player. I still try not to be. I feel like this one’s getting forced on me a little bit.

“But, yeah, I guess — part of playing this many games in a year, there’s naturally some rhythm that gets created, and then I think we start turning that rhythm into superstition.”

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Since 1901, the list of pitchers with a 13-0 record or better in a ballpark includes Quantrill, Nagy, Vic Raschi (14-0, Comiskey Park in Chicago, 1947-1955), Chief Bender (13-0, Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, 1903-1908) and Whitey Ford (13-0, Griffith Stadium in Washington, 1950-1961).

“I like the routine that we’ve built here,” Quantrill said. “You know, I think that it can be easier to prepare at home. Doesn’t have to be. I think some of it’s probably a little bit of randomness, but I do enjoy pitching here. Like I said, I just enjoy the routine of working here and preparing and, you know, things have gone well.”

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Things have gone well for Guardians rookie outfielder Oscar Gonzalez in the past week with three go-ahead hits: a walk-off solo home run in the 15th inning to clinch a two-game sweep over the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card round, a run-scoring single in Friday’s win at Yankee Stadium and a walk-off two-run single in Saturday’s victory over the Yankees.

“I do believe we’ve played our baseball so far,” Quantrill said. “We would have liked to do a couple things better in the first game, myself included. But I think for the most part, we’ve done what we said we were going to do.

“We know there’s a good chance we’d play tight baseball games. I think the guys have performed exceptionally under pressure late in games. Our bullpen has been special, and we’ve really stuck to the plan.

“I think we’re still playing a fast game, difficult to defend. … We’re doing things the right way. We haven’t changed and I’m super proud of all our guys for doing that.”

Quantrill is riding on a streak that flies in the face of the “Only in Cleveland” mantra, that busts the negativity of a city that has come to expect the worst after decades of sports frustration.

Cole did earn the win in Game 1 of the ALDS and Quantrill took the loss, but the 27-year-old Canadian is ready for a second start against the Yankees.

“I'll be prepared and I’m sure that there will be a little extra pressure and I’m sure it will be exciting and the fans will be loud,” Quantrill said. “That’s stuff we look forward to. That’s why we play this game. I’m thankful for the opportunity and I'm going to go out there and do my best.”

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Beaven on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cal Quantrill set to pitch with chance to eliminate Yankees in ALDS