By ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND (AP) — One late-night October meltdown was one too many for the New York Yankees.
Again? Fugedaboudit.
The Yankees scratched out two runs in the ninth inning off All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase and bounced back from a gut-wrenching loss a day earlier, beating the Cleveland Guardians, 8-6, on Friday night, Oct. 18, to take a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.
New York broke a 6-6 tie in the ninth as shortstop Brayan Rocchio booted Alex Verdugo’s RBI grounder for an error and Gleyber Torres followed with a run-scoring single.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer, Juan Soto had a two-run, first-inning shot and Austin Wells also connected for the Yankees, who can advance to their 41st World Series — and first since 2009 — with by winning Game 5 on Saturday night.
Just 24 hours after leaving Progressive Field wondering what went wrong, the Yankees showed resiliency.
“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.
“Not a perfect game, but a gritty, tough, winning game.”
It was a messy ninth for Clase (0-2) as baseball’s best reliever faltered for the second night in a row.
New York got three singles in the ninth off the right-hander, who gave up back-to-back homers in the eighth inning of Game 3 but got bailed out when the Guardians hit two-run homers in the ninth and 10th.
He wasn’t as lucky this time as New York’s bullpen bent but didn’t break.
“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 facing elimination in the postseason for the second time. They rallied in the ALDS to get past Detroit and will have to win three straight, 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 straight night, the Yankees relievers struggled in high-leverage situations. The Guardians scored three in the seventh, one in the eighth and threatened in the ninth, putting two runners on.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone went to Tommy Kahnle — and not closer Luke Weaver — for the last three outs and the right-hander was able to put away Cleveland by throwing 18 pitches, all changeups.
Stanton’s 404-foot drive in the sixth inning off rookie Cade Smith put the Yankees ahead 6-2. Stanton has seven career postseason hits against Cleveland, all home runs.
After Cleveland closed to 6-5 in the seventh, rookie Jhonkensy Noel sent a shiver through the ballpark when he flied out to the warning track with a man on. Noel’s pinch-hit, ninth-inning homer had tied Game 3.
The Guardians tied the score in the eighth when the Yankees botched an easy play in the infield, yet another of their fielding and baserunning miscues.
Bo Naylor doubled and moved up on an infield grounder. Mark Leiter Jr. (1-0), added to the Yankees’ ALCS roster earlier in the day as Ian Hamilton’s injury replacement, got Steven Kwan to pop up. Leiter appeared to get out of the inning when David Fry, one of Cleveland’s Game 3 home run stars, hit a slow grounder to the right side.
Leiter charged the ball on the grass, knocked it down and scooped the ball barehanded as he neared the foul line toward first. His low flip to first went through Anthony Rizzo’s legs for an error as Naylor scored.
Stanton, who hit back-to-back homers with Aaron Judge in the eighth inning Thursday, gave the Yankees a four-run lead with his 15th career postseason homer.
Smith, dominant during the regular season, walked Soto leading off the sixth. Judge singled and Stanton drove a 1-2 fastball into the bleachers where a sizable contingent of Yankees fans were 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 club history.
But the personal accolades meant nothing to Stanton. After Game 3, a victory was all that mattered.
And now New York needs one more.
“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.”
