The Yankees picked a good time to grow leaps and bounds defensively. 

Besides serving them well during a 99-win regular season, the Yankees’ defensive improvements loom large in the ALDS as they face a Guardians team that was the hardest club to strike out in the majors this year. Their contact-oriented offense puts a bigger burden on the defenses they play, which the Yankees mostly handled well in a Game 1 win on Tuesday night. 

“That’s part of why they are better than they were before,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said following Game 1. 

After Thursday’s scheduled Game 2 was postponed by rain, Friday will be another chance for the Yankees to showcase how far they have come in the field from last year, when their defense was consistently one of their most glaring issues. 

In 2021, the Yankees registered minus-41 Defensive Runs Saved as a team, according to FanGraphs — the second-worst mark in all of the majors. Among the biggest culprits were Gary Sanchez (minus-10) behind the plate and Gleyber Torres (minus-10) playing out of position at shortstop. 

This year, the Yankees finished the regular season leading the majors with 129 DRS, blowing past the second-place Dodgers (84). Leading the way were catcher Jose Trevino (21), shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa (10), utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera (nine) and even Torres (nine) thanks to his move back to second base. 

“It’s incredible to know when the ball is hit, there’s always a chance for it to be an out,” Nestor Cortes said ahead of his Game 2 start. “Obviously you can’t control anything once the ball is out of your hands. So to be able to have that comfort, to know that your defense is one of the best in the big leagues, if not the best, it feels great to be able to pitch and allow contact and know that plays will be made behind you.” 

In Tuesday’s Game 1, Kiner-Falefa committed an early error but came back to make a slick double play to end a jam in the seventh inning. Right after Cabrera made a strong catch up against the left-field wall in the fourth inning, third baseman Josh Donaldson made a sliding stop on a ground ball down the line and fired to first for the out. And Gold Glove center fielder Harrison Bader cut off a ball in the gap on Jose Ramirez’s third-inning double to make sure Amed Rosario stopped at third, and never ended up scoring. 

“As that game unfolded, I think you really saw our defense kind of take over and show what they have shown all year,” manager Aaron Boone said. “That’s who they are and what we are capable of, and if we are going to get to where we want to go, it’s going to be an important ingredient.”