Cleveland.- Star closer Emmanuel Clase exploded again, allowing two runs in the ninth inning, and the New York Yankees got one step closer to the World Series, beating the Cleveland Guardians 8-6 on Friday.
Gleyber Torres hit an RBI single and New York scored the go-ahead run on another Venezuelan error, shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who couldn’t handle a grounder by Mexico’s Alex Verdugo.
The ninth inning brought a new nightmare for Clase (0-2). The Dominican, who has been the best reliever this season in the Major Leagues, failed for the second straight night.
New York got three singles in the ninth inning from the left-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. bat.
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 win in Game 5.
The Guardians lost 3-1 in the American League Championship Series, and were in danger of being eliminated for the second time this postseason. They survived a division series to beat Detroit and now need to win three in a row – two at Yankee Stadium – to have a chance of ending a 76-year World Series drought.
New York’s bullpen nearly gave up a lead in the final inning for the second straight game. 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, Venezuela’s Gleyber Torres went 2-for-5 with one run scored and one RBI. Dominican Juan Soto went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Mexico’s Alex Verdugo went 0-3 with an RBI.
For the Guardians, Dominican José Ramírez was 3-2 with one run scored and two RBI, Jhonkensy Noel 1-0. Venezuela’s Andrés Giménez 5-2, Brayan Rocchio 4-0 with one goal.
