Spread the news! Juan Soto sends Yankees to World Series with all-time classic homer

CLEVELAND — Nothing has come easy for the Yankees this year.

But for the first time in 15 years, they are finally headed back to the World Series.

Who else but Juan Soto played hero, delivering a two-out, three-run home run in the top of the 10th inning to send the Yankees to a 5-2 win over the Guardians that secured the American League pennant and punched their ticket to the Fall Classic.

A third straight tense, dramatic game was left up to the bullpens and it was Soto, the Yankees’ offseason trade prize who changed their outlook coming into the year, who came through with the biggest swing.

Luke Weaver, coming off his first career blown save in Game 3, nailed down the final three outs of a six-out effort to send the Yankees rushing onto the field in celebration.

Since their last World Series appearance in 2009, the Yankees had made it to the ALCS five times and lost all five, the last three of them to the Astros.

This time around, they were coming off a disaster of an 82-80 season, but knocked off the Royals in the ALDS, fended off the pesky Guardians in the ALCS and will face the Dodgers or the Mets in the World Series beginning Friday.

Austin Wells got the rally started with one out in the 10th inning, drawing a full-count walk off Hunter Gaddis.

Alex Verdugo came up next and hit a potential double play ball to second base that Andres Gimenez flipped to second, but shortstop Brayan Rocchio dropped it, allowing both runners to be safe.

One out later, Soto got into a 1-1 count before fouling off four pitches and then clobbering a 95 mph fastball at the top of the zone for a 402-foot homer.

Giancarlo Stanton had tied the game 2-2 in the sixth inning with a booming 446-foot home run off Tanner Bibee, who had mostly cruised to that point after escaping a first-inning jam.

It marked Stanton’s fourth hit of the ALCS, and all four were home runs as the veteran DH’s October legend gained another chapter.

After Carlos Rodon lasted just 4 ²/₃ innings, the Yankees bullpen was forced to account for 16 outs after having to get 15 in each of the last two days.

On Saturday, that meant two outs from Mark Leiter Jr., four from a gutsy Tim Hill (who was pitching for the third straight day and the fifth time in the last six days) and four from Jake Cousins (all on strikeouts) to bridge the gap to Weaver in the ninth.

Leiter, who delivered five big outs in Game 4 on his first day on the playoff roster, entered from the bullpen with runners on second and third in the fifth inning and threw one ball to Jose Ramirez before the Yankees decided to intentionally walk him.

But Leiter got out of the jam by getting Lane Thomas to ground out.

Then, after Stanton tied the game in the top of the sixth with his monstrous home run, Leiter walked the leadoff man in the bottom of the inning before getting Jhonkensy Noel to pop up on a full count.

Aaron Boone then turned to the lefty Hill, who gave up a single to Bo Naylor but then got Gimenez to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Hill came back out for the seventh, walking Rocchio on 11 pitches — with two borderline pitches not helping his cause — and got Steven Kwan to ground into another double play started by first baseman Oswaldo Cabrera, who had pinch run for Anthony Rizzo in the top of the inning.