CLEVELAND — Alex Verdugo and Gleyber Torres each drove in a run in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees moved within one win of their first World Series appearance since 2009 with an 8-6 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series.
Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto and Austin Wells hit home runs for the Yankees, who had to deal with another Guardians comeback in the late innings but avenged their heartbreaking Game 3 defeat.
After he was added to the Yankees’ ALCS roster on Friday as an injury replacement, right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. (1-0) allowed a run in the eighth as Cleveland tied the score at 6-all. But he still earned the win, and Tommy Kahnle logged a scoreless ninth for his first save of the postseason.
Josh Naylor had two hits and three RBIs while Jose Ramirez had two hits and two RBIs for the Guardians, who lost for the seventh time in 10 games against New York during the regular season and the playoffs.
Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase (0-2), who had 47 saves in the regular season, gave up both Yankees runs in the ninth inning on three hits and one walk to absorb the loss.
Game 5 is set for Saturday in Cleveland.
The Yankees took a 2-0 lead six pitches into the game when Torres singled on Gavin Williams’ first pitch of the game and Soto followed with a home run to center. It was Soto’s second homer of the playoffs.
The Guardians answered quickly, as Steven Kwan led off the bottom of the first with a walk and later scored on a Ramirez sacrifice fly.
New York took a 3-1 lead in the second inning on Wells’ solo home run before Cleveland got the run back in the third on an RBI single from Naylor.
The Yankees took a 6-2 lead in the sixth inning when Soto walked, Aaron Judge singled and Stanton blasted a three-run home run to left-center field off Cade Smith. It was Stanton’s second home run in two games, his third of the ALCS and fourth of the postseason.
The Guardians pulled within a run at 6-5 in the seventh inning on Ramirez’s one-out RBI double and Naylor’s two-run double.
Cleveland tied the game at 6 in the ninth inning when David Fry hit a comebacker to Leiter, who knocked the ball down and chased it into foul territory, then flipped it to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who was unable to handle the throw, allowing Bo Naylor to score.
In the Yankees’ half of the ninth inning, Rizzo and Anthony Volpe singled. Verdugo’s roller to shortstop was bobbled by Brayan Rocchio for an error and a 7-6 lead. Torres followed with an RBI single.
