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.