One late-night October collapse was too much for the New York Yankees. Again? Forget about it.
The Yankees managed to score two runs in the ninth inning against All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase, bouncing back from a tough loss the night before to defeat the Cleveland Guardians 8-6 on Friday and take a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.
New York broke a 6-6 tie in the ninth when shortstop Brayan Rocchio mishandled Alex Verdugo’s grounder, allowing an RBI error, and Gleyber Torres followed with a run-scoring single.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer, Juan Soto added a two-run homer in the first inning, and Austin Wells also homered for the Yankees. They can reach their 41st World Series—first since 2009—by winning Game 5 on Saturday night.
Just 24 hours after leaving Progressive Field wondering what had gone wrong, the Yankees showed their strength.
“Not surprised with these guys,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously last night was a really tough loss. And whatever happened today, win, lose or draw, there’s no doubt in my mind we’d come out ready to roll, ready to turn the page.”
“It wasn’t a perfect game, but it was a gritty, tough, winning game.”
It was a rough ninth inning for Clase (0-2) as baseball’s top reliever struggled for the second night in a row.
New York got three singles in the ninth off the right-hander, who had given up back-to-back homers in the eighth inning of Game 3 but was saved when the Guardians hit two-run homers in the ninth and 10th.
He wasn’t as fortunate this time, as New York’s bullpen held firm.
“I haven’t been able to execute my pitches,” Clase said through an interpreter. “Credit to them because they’ve been able to execute their at-bats.”
The Guardians are now facing elimination in the postseason for the second time. They fought back in the ALDS to beat Detroit and will need to win three straight games, including two at Yankee Stadium, to have any chance of ending their 76-year World Series drought.
“We’re going to show up ready to win,” first-year manager Stephen Vogt said. “That’s who these guys are. Our backs are against the wall, we play our best baseball. We don’t quit. This team has no quit in it. It hasn’t all year long.”
For the second night in a row, the Yankees’ relievers had a tough time in high-pressure situations. The Guardians scored three runs in the seventh inning, one in the eighth, and put two runners on base in the ninth, putting pressure on the Yankees.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone chose Tommy Kahnle to get the final three outs instead of closer Luke Weaver, and Kahnle managed to close it out by throwing 18 pitches, all changeups.
Stanton’s 404-foot homer in the sixth inning off rookie Cade Smith gave the Yankees a 6-2 lead. Stanton has hit seven postseason home runs against Cleveland in his career.
After Cleveland made it 6-5 in the seventh, rookie Jhonkensy Noel nearly tied the game when he hit a fly ball to the warning track with a runner on base. Noel had hit a pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning of Game 3 that tied the game.
The Guardians tied the score in the eighth when the Yankees made an error on an easy play in the infield, adding to their list of fielding and baserunning mistakes.
Bo Naylor hit a double and moved to third on an infield grounder. Mark Leiter Jr. (1-0), who was added to the Yankees’ ALCS roster earlier in the day as Ian Hamilton’s replacement due to injury, got Steven Kwan to pop up. Leiter seemed to escape the inning when David Fry, one of Cleveland’s Game 3 stars, hit a slow grounder to the right side.
Leiter charged the ball on the grass, knocked it down, and grabbed it barehanded as he got close to the foul line toward first base. However, his low flip to first base went through Anthony Rizzo’s legs for an error, allowing Naylor to score.
Stanton, who hit back-to-back homers with Aaron Judge in the eighth inning on Thursday, gave the Yankees a four-run lead with his 15th career postseason homer.
Smith, who had a strong regular season, walked Soto to start the sixth inning. Judge got a single, and Stanton launched a 1-2 fastball into the bleachers where a large group of Yankees fans was waiting for it to land.
“I was in the zone and I got behind in the count,” Smith said. “I guess I threw what he was looking for.”
Stanton tied Carlos Beltrán and Nelson Cruz for the most homers in the first 35 career playoff games. He also moved into a tie with Judge and Babe Ruth for fourth in Yankees history.
But personal achievements didn’t matter to Stanton. After Game 3, winning was all that was important. And now New York needs just one more win.
“No lead is safe,” Stanton said. “It’s a great team over there, but it’s just important to keep pushing. They answered the bell. It’s a wave. It’s a roller coaster. But yeah, it was good to come out on top today.”
