The Yankees face their longtime rival Cleveland Guardians for the start of a three-game series at Progressive Field tonight, almost exactly six months after New York won the AL Pennant there.
A lot has changed since. Juan Soto, whose extra-innings home run proved the clincher in Game 5, is now with the crosstown rival Mets. The Guardians had a relatively quiet offseason, but are still playing their signature scrappy against-the-grain style.
Today, both sides enter the series motivated. New York sits atop the AL East, playing as though losing Soto barely hurt at all.