The stellar closer Emmanuel Class imploded again, allowing two runs in the ninth inning, and the New York Yankees They came one step closer to the World Series, winning 8-6 on Friday over the Cleveland Guardians.
Gleyber Torres hit an RBI single and New York scored the go-ahead run due to an error by another Venezuelan, shortstop Brayan Rocchiowho could not handle a ground ball from the Mexican Alex Verdugo.
The ninth inning brought a new nightmare for Clase (0-2). The Dominican, who was the best reliever of the season in the Major Leagues, failed for the second consecutive night.
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New York got three singles in the ninth inning off the right-hander, who gave up two consecutive home runs in the eighth inning of Game 3, but was saved when the Guardians hit a pair of two-run homers in their final two at-bats.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer and Juan Soto added a two-run homer for the Yankees, who can advance to their 41st World Series this Saturday with a victory in Game 5.
The Guardians are down 3-1 in the American League Championship Series, and are in danger of being eliminated for the second time this postseason. They survived the division series to beat Detroit and now will have to win three in a row — two at Yankee Stadium — to have any chance of ending their 76-year World Series drought.
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New York’s bullpen nearly blew a lead in the final innings for the second game in a row. The Guardians scored three runs in the seventh inning, one in the eighth and threatened in the ninth, putting two runners on base.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone turned to Tommy Kahnle for the final three outs and the right-hander managed to finish off Cleveland, something New York’s relievers couldn’t do on Thursday.
For the Yankees, Venezuelan Gleyber Torres was 2-for-5 with one run scored and one RBI. Dominican Juan Soto was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Mexican Alex Verdugo went 0-3 with an RBI.
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For the Guardians, the Dominicans José Ramírez 3-2 with one run scored and two RBIs, Jhonkensy Noel 1-0. The Venezuelans Andrés Giménez 5-2, Brayan Rocchio 4-0 with one scored.
