It was as if Jose Trevino were trying to get everything out of the way in his postseason debut.
Potential jitters? Check. A suspect defensive play? Yep. A significant at-bat to drive in the go-ahead run? He had one of those, too.
The Yankees catcher had an up-and-down first ever playoff game, but the highs were more significant than the lows in the 4-1 victory over the Guardians in Game 1 of the ALDS on Tuesday night in The Bronx.
Trevino, who had played four seasons with poor Rangers teams before the trade that brought him to the Yankees, had never sniffed .500, much less true October baseball. If the 29-year-old had nerves — a notion he rejected, saying he simply was “super excited” — it may have shown early.
In the top of the second inning, Gerrit Cole struck out Cleveland’s Will Brennan on a slider in the dirt. Trevino had to throw to first base to complete the out and bounced it, saved by Anthony Rizzo’s smooth pick in the dirt.
Jose Trevino hits a sac fly during the Yankees’ Game 1 win on Tuesday. Corey Sipkin 
An inning later, Trevino could not get a throw off quickly enough. Cleveland had runners on second and third with one out for Josh Naylor, who grounded sharply to Rizzo. The first baseman saw Amed Rosario take off from third toward home, so he threw to Trevino. Rosario was caught in between but made it safely back to third.
“When I looked up, Rosario’s head, chest, everything was coming to me. When I got the ball from Rizzo, I went to go tag him,” said Trevino, who tagged air because Rosario had sprinted back to third. “By the time I looked up, he was going back already.
“Just a tough play in general.”
Cole and Josh Donaldson, who then fielded a grounder and threw home for the force, ensured the play would not cost them.
Trevino found redemption in the fifth inning of a tie game. Isiah Kiner-Falefa drilled a hit down the right-field line that Cleveland’s Oscar Gonzalez botched, allowing Kiner-Falefa to reach third base with one out.
Cleveland’s Cal Quantrill got ahead 0-2 on Trevino, who was thinking, “Do my job, get that run in.”
He did his job, getting underneath a cutter for a long, sacrifice fly to center field to score the go-ahead run for his first postseason RBI. Trevino and Kiner-Falefa, longtime Rangers teammates, combined to put the Yankees ahead, 2-1.
“It just so happens every time I get a big hit, IKF is on the bases or something,” Trevino said with a smile.
Trevino, who finished 0-for-2, is still seeking his first postseason hit, but he may have checked off every other box in his playoff debut.
