CLEVELAND — The $324 million requirement for Gerrit Cole on Sunday night was to save the Yankees’ bullpen and save the Yankees’ season. Considering the bedraggled condition of the relief corps, the ace almost certainly had to do the former to accomplish the latter.

Cole fulfilled his mission. He lugged the ball deep and well in Division Series Game 4 when there was pretty much no other alternative if the Yankees were going to continue playing baseball in 2022.

“That is so big-time,” Cole’s catcher, Jose Trevino said.

Cole was not dominant in Division Series Game 4. He was something more necessary … dogged.

The Yankees were reeling on the field and off. They had won only one of the first three games of this series — the opener, also by Cole. In losing the next two games late and devastatingly, the Yankees’ season went on life support. After a last-swing Game 3 loss, Aaron Boone and Clay Holmes had a “he-said, he-said” dispute over the closer’s absence from a walk-off 6-5 loss.

Before Game 4, Boone revealed he was benching his tremulous shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

The Yankees were uneasy and unnerved. The close nature of the first three games of this series (decided by a total of six runs), the lack of off-days from Game 2 onward and the number of Yankee relievers on the injured list left the best portion of the pen on fumes for Game 4. So it was simple, Cole goes deep or the Yankees get deep-sixed from these playoffs.

“I just don’t think about those things,” Cole insisted. “It’s like we have to get the job done as a team and we did that tonight. I just went out there and approached it like I would approach everything else.”

Whatever the mindset, the results spoke of understanding the situation perfectly. Cole threw seven innings. He authored 110 pitches. He handed a two-run lead to Holmes in the eighth and the Yankees beat the Guardians 4-2. The only Division Series still playing will go to a decisive Game 5 on Monday night.

The Yankees found the fight that both the Braves and Dodgers lacked in losing Game 4s and being upset in their respective Division Series. For that there were heroes. Harrison Bader homered for the third time in this series, a two-run shot in the second. Anthony Rizzo had a first-inning RBI single. Giancarlo Stanton a sixth-inning sacrifice fly. Holmes and everyday Wandy Peralta each scripted a scoreless relief inning.

But for the Yankees, this was about Cole. This was about their ace, well, acing, when nothing less would do.

“For him to get us that deep in the game set us up real nice,” Boone said.

In their previous 27 postseason games, the Yankees have had just one other start of at least seven innings. Cole also did seven innings in Game 1 of the first round of the 2020 playoffs, also against Cleveland. In that period, the only Yankee to throw more than 110 pitches in a postseason outing was James Paxton’s 112 in beating the Astros in ALCS Game 5 in 2019.

But it was how Cole got to 110 while under these circumstances that made the outing so impressive. He needed economy and pitched two scoreless innings on 23 pitches while the Yankees took a 3-0 lead. He gave back a run in the third and Josh Naylor led off the fourth with a homer, mimicking the rocking of a baby while rounding the bases.

“Yeah. Whatever. It’s cute,” Cole said, summing up of Naylor’s histrionics.

More pertinent: the Guardians were within 3-2. Progressive Field was in full throat. The Yankees’ 2022 season was teetering.

What did Cole do after allowing a homer in an eighth straight playoff game, tying Yu Darvish for the longest streak ever? He retired 10 straight. The next hit was an Andres Gimenez single on which he reached second on a Bader error. Cole was at 101 pitches. Holmes was warming. He went full to Gabriel Arias. A walk and the tying runs are on and Holmes is in and the bullpen wheel is moving before Boone wants it to begin.

Cole froze Arias with a 98 mph fastball for his seventh strikeout. Will Brennan pinch-hit. Cole threw three more fastballs — the last 97.5 mph on pitch No. 110. He struck out Brennan. He threw a jab. Holmes and Peralta finished without drama — or any runs against.

And this series was Guardians 2, Cole 2. Can the Yankees win one without their ace participating to get to a third ALCS showdown against the Astros since 2017?

For at least one more day, Cole saved the bullpen and saved the Yankees’ season.