Juan Soto hit a three-run home run in the 10th inning on Saturday to help New York beat Cleveland 5-2 and advance to their first World Series since 2009.
The Dominican outfielder crushed a fastball from Cleveland pitcher Hunter Gaddis over the centerfield wall to score the decisive runs in a thriller that sent the Yankees to their 41st World Series.
“It seems incredible”, Soto said. “It’s the best feeling you can have when you win and take your team to the World Series. It’s why we play.”
The Yankees won the American League Championship Series 4-1 and reached the climax of the Major League Baseball championship, which begins Friday.
“We’ve done a great job since day one. We’ve worked hard. Now we’re the best team in the American League,” Soto said. “We have been grinding since day one and now we have achieved our goal.”
The Yankees, a 27-time champion, will face the winner of the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Mets. The Dodgers lead the series 3-2 and will host Game 6 on Sunday.
“We have all the talent needed to get to the end,” said Soto, who helped Washington win the 2019 World Series. “We feel really good. We’re really united.”
Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, a 34-year-old outfielder who has never appeared in a World Series in his 15 MLB seasons, hit a two-run home run in the sixth, his fourth home run of the Series and 16th of his playoff career.
“He’s our man.” Soto said of Stanton. “He put us back in the game. He’s been doing it since the first day of the playoffs and we’re really happy to have him with us. He kept us close and we came back.”
The game remained stalemate until the 10th inning, when Gaddis grounded out Austin Wells, allowed a single to Alex Verdugo and gave Soto the game-winning three-run shot.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the secret to success is the players “They’re so close and tight-knit. These guys play for each other every single day.
“It’s amazing. Knowing that we’re going to dance for a chance to play for a world championship, I can’t imagine doing it with a better group.”
Stanton was named the series’ Most Valuable Player. “It’s incredible.” he said. “We were resilient throughout the playoffs. It was a roller coaster and we were able to continue to endure. We know there is still a lot of work to do, it’s all uphill and we have to go and do it.”
Cleveland, which last won the World Series in 1948, was denied a return for the first time since 2016.
Yankees stymied early
Gleyber Torres led off with a single and ran home on Soto’s double to the right-field wall, but was thrown out at the plate by Cleveland catcher Bo Naylor on a throw from second baseman Andres Gimenez.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm both reached after being hit by Tanner Bibee’s pitch to load the bases, but the Game 2 loser avoided scoring when Anthony Rizzo struck out.
The Canadian brothers combined to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead in the second inning, when Josh Naylor singled and scored on brother Bo Naylor’s double down the right field line.
Gimenez doubled and scored on Steven Kwan’s single to center in the fifth inning for a 2-0 Guardians lead, but the Yankees didn’t give up any more as reliever Mark Leiter Jr. escaped a block with his bases.
In the top of the sixth, Torres and Soto each singled for the Yankees. Torres moved to third when Judge grounded into a double play, but Bibee was then tagged by Stanton for the home run to left that ended the game.
