Yankees 8-6 Guardians (Oct. 18, 2024) Game Recap

CLEVELAND – An overnight collapse in October was one too many for the New York Yankees.

Again? Fugedaboudit.

The Yankees scored two runs in the ninth inning against All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase and rebounded from a heartbreaking loss the day before by defeating the Cleveland Guardians 8-6 on Friday night to move to 3-1 in American football Lead brought league championship series.

New York broke a 6-6 tie in the ninth when shortstop Brayan Rocchio threw out Alex Verdugo's RBI grounder on an error and Gleyber Torres followed with a run-scoring single.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run home run, Juan Soto had a two-run shot in the first inning and Austin Wells also scored for the Yankees, who can advance to their 41st World Series – and first since 2009 – by winning Game 5 Saturday evening.

Just 24 hours after leaving Progressive Field wondering what went wrong, the Yankees showed resilience.

“I’m not surprised by these guys,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously last night was a really tough loss. And whatever happened today, win, lose or draw, I have no doubt that we were ready to go, ready to turn the tide.”

“Not a perfect game, but a tough, tough, winning game.”

It was a messy ninth-place finish for Clase (0-2), as baseball's best player failed for the second straight year.

New York scored three singles in the ninth inning against the right-hander, who gave up consecutive home runs in the eighth inning of Game 3, but was saved when the Guardians hit two home runs in the ninth and tenth innings.

This time he wasn't as lucky as New York's bullpen, which bent but didn't break.

“I wasn’t able to execute my pitches,” Clase said through an interpreter. “Thank you for allowing them to make their attack strikes.”

The Guardians are facing elimination in the postseason for the second time. They've rallied to get past Detroit in the ALDS and need to win three straight, including two at Yankee Stadium, to have any chance of ending their 76-year World Series drought.

“We’ll be ready to win,” first-year coach Stephen Vogt said. “It’s these guys. Our backs are against the wall, we're playing our best baseball. We don't give up. This team has no end. That’s not the case all year round.”

For the second straight year, the Yankees' relievers struggled in high-leverage situations. The Guardians scored three points in the seventh, a hit in the eighth and threatened with two runners in the ninth.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone went to Tommy Kahnle – rather than closer Luke Weaver – for the final three outs, and the right-hander shut out Cleveland with 18 throws, all changes.

Stanton's 404-foot drive in the sixth inning off rookie Cade Smith gave the Yankees a 6-2 lead. Stanton had seven hits against Cleveland in the postseason, all of them home runs.

After Cleveland got within 6-5 in the seventh, rookie Jhonkensy Noel sent shivers through the ballpark when he flew with a man on the warning track. Noel's narrow home run in the ninth inning tied Game 3.

The Guardians tied the score in the eighth when the Yankees botched an easy play in the infield, another of their fielding and baserunning errors.

Bo Naylor doubled and moved up on an infield grounder. Mark Leiter Jr. (1-0), who was added to the Yankees' ALCS roster earlier in the day to replace Ian Hamilton, made sure Steven Kwan showed up. Leiter appeared to get out of the inning when David Fry, one of Cleveland's home run stars in Game 3, hit a slow grounder to right.

Leiter rushed the ball onto the grass, threw it to the ground and grabbed the ball with his bare hands as he approached the foul line for the first time. His first-time low flip went through Anthony Rizzo's legs and caused an error as Naylor scored.

Stanton, who hit back-to-back home runs with Aaron Judge in the eighth inning on Thursday, gave the Yankees a four-run lead with his 15th home run of the season.

Smith, who was dominant during the regular season, led Soto in the sixth. Judge hit a single and Stanton drove a 1-2 fastball into the stands, where a sizable number of Yankees fans were waiting for it to land.

“I was in the zone and fell 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 home runs in the first 35 playoff games of his career. He also achieved a duel with Judge and Babe Ruth, placing him fourth in club history.

But the personal accolades meant nothing to Stanton. After game 3, only one win counted.

And now New York needs another one.

“No lead is certain,” Stanton said. “It's a great team there, but it's just important to keep pushing. They answered the bell. It's a wave. It's a roller coaster ride. But yeah, it was good to come out as a winner today.”

TRAINER ROOM

Yankees: Hamilton injured his calf while covering first base in the sixth inning of Game 3. He won't be eligible for the World Series if New York advances. Boone said he considered using left-hander Nestor Cortes but wanted to give the left-hander as much time as possible to recover from an elbow strain.

NEXT

Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón makes his second start in the series after a strong Game 1 – one run and three hits with nine strikeouts in six innings. He faces Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee, who was ejected after just 39 pitches in Game 2 and will rest for three days.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb