CLEVELAND -- For an entire season, Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase provided something that even the best relievers rarely can claim: near certainty.
But after two straight nights of struggles in the highest-stakes games of the year, that certainty has been shaken.
On Friday, Clase gave up a pair of go-ahead runs to the Yankees in the ninth inning, absorbing the loss in New York's 8-6 win in Game 4, a defeat that pushed the Guardians to the brink of elimination in the AL Championship Series.
This came on the heels of a stunning Game 3, won by Cleveland in a wild finish that was set up by a rare Clase blown save.