Yankees rally late, hold off Guardians to take 3-1 ALCS lead

CLEVELAND — Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase gave up two runs in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees moved closer to another World Series, beating Cleveland 8-6 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.

Gleyber Torres hit an RBI single and New York scored its go-ahead run on an error by shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who booted Alex Verdugo’s grounder.

It was a messy ninth for Clase (0-2) as baseball’s best reliever all season 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 got a pair of two-run homers in their final two at-bats.

“Just getting it done,” Giancarlo Stanton said after the game. “He’s as tough as it comes to score runs off of. Putting it in play is the most important.” 

Stanton hit a three-run homer and Juan Soto added a two-run shot for the Yankees, who can advance to their 41st World Series with a win in Game 5 on Saturday.

For Stanton, it was his seventh career postseason hits against the Guardians — all being home runs. He has three in this series, tied for the second most in a single ALCS in Yankees franchise history (Robinson Cano had four in the 2010 ALCS). 

“I want a ring,” Stanton said of his postseason success. “Anything I can do to help us win, and this was a big step. But much more work to do.” 

The Guardians are facing elimination in the postseason for the second time. They rallied in the AL Division Series to get past Detroit and now will have to win three straight — two at Yankee Stadium — to have any chance of ending their 76-year World Series drought.

For the second straight night, New York’s bullpen nearly blew a late lead. The Guardians scored three runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and threatened in the ninth, putting two runners on base.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone went to Tommy Kahnle, not Luke Weaver, for the last three outs and the right-hander was able to put away Cleveland, something New York’s relievers couldn’t do Thursday.

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.