Left off ALDS roster, Avila aids bullpen at outset of the ALCS

NEW YORK -- Left off Cleveland’s roster for the American League Division Series, Pedro Avila was added to the bullpen for the AL Championship Series in large part for the durability he showed throughout the regular season. In Monday’s 5-2 loss in Game 1, during which few things went right for the Guardians as they went down 1-0 in the series, it was their 26th man who delivered a heroic performance.

Entering the hectic environment of a Yankee Stadium crowd ready to come unglued as he took over for reliever Joey Cantillo -- whose own appearance came earlier than expected after Guardians starter Alex Cobb lasted just 2 2/3 innings -- shortly after the left-hander had uncorked his fourth wild pitch of the night, Avila stabilized what had the makings of a disastrous fourth inning. Making his first appearance since Sept. 27, the 27-year-old shut down the Yankees across 2 2/3 innings by retiring all eight batters he faced.

Avila kept the Guardians within striking distance by departing with a three-run deficit. More importantly, his length saved them from having to utilize any of The Big Four in their bullpen: Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase. Of Cleveland’s 44 total innings pitched in the ALDS against the Tigers, the dominant back-end quartet worked 21 of the bullpen’s 26 2/3 innings.

On Monday, Avila was followed by Erik Sabrowski and Andrew Walters, who combined for 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball.

“[Avila] did his best to save our bullpen,” shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who homered and was involved in an odd obstruction play, said in Spanish. “He executed his pitches and helped us out a lot by preserving the bullpen.”

Monday night’s performance was nothing new for Avila, who has been somewhat of an unsung hero in Cleveland’s bullpen. He has proven capable of performing any role, whether it be short outings -- 21 of his 54 regular-season appearances were one inning or less -- or long relief. That versatility was ultimately a prevailing factor in Guardians manager Stephen Vogt’s decision to add him back to the roster for this round.

“Pedro's great,” Vogt said. “He's done that for us all year. He has come in and stopped the bleeding and stopped the game and continued to get outs for us. Pedro has been phenomenal in that role for us all year long. So it was great to see him back on the mound doing it.”

Despite not having pitched in over two weeks, Avila maintained his arm by regularly throwing bullpens as he sat back and cheered on his teammates throughout the ALDS. Avila credited that work as something that helped him feel sharp as he came on to face the heart of the Yankees’ lineup, beginning with Aaron Judge, who flew out for a sacrifice fly.

“I kept working hard during those two weeks that I hadn’t pitched,” Avila told MLB.com in Spanish. “Tonight, I think I executed what I had been working on.”

The Guardians will need a better overall pitching performance going forward than the one turned in for Game 1, which saw seven walks and five wild pitches in eight innings. Avila, who was making his first career postseason appearance, provided the blueprint by pounding the zone with 20 of his 31 pitches for strikes.

Not only did Avila keep The Big Four completely fresh for Game 2, but he’s likely earned himself another opportunity in a higher-leverage role later in this series.

“I just focused on doing my job,” Avila said. “The job was to throw strikes, and the results came out as good as I wanted them to be.”