“We needed to set the tone for the series,” Cole said. “I’m obviously very thankful and humbled to be able to take the ball and be in this position. To be able to deliver feels really good.”

Giancarlo Stanton added a solo shot in the ninth for the Yankees, who didn’t even have to warm up their top relievers — keeping Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino fresh for Game 2.

Judge’s first homer since coming off the injured list on Sept. 16 — and the first allowed by Bieber at home this season — gave the Yankees a stunning 2-0 lead.

“We had a big, long hitter’s meeting about all sticking to the same plan and just trying to work counts, get pitches to drive and I think, as a whole, we did that,” Judge said. “That’s when this team is dangerous, when we go out there and we can just grind out at-bats.

“Any mistakes that are thrown up there, we hammer them.”

DJ LeMahieu, the AL batting champion, led off with a single before Judge, who missed 29 games with a strained calf, blasted Bieber’s first pitch, a middle-of-the-plate fastball, beyond the wall in right-center.

It was just the shot in the arm the Yankees were looking for after going 11-18 on the road this season and dropping six of eight down the stretch.

Unlike the previous four postseason matchups between the Indians and Yankees since 1997, this one, played amid a pandemic that threatened to wipe out the entire season, was different in so many ways.