Yanks clutch late to move to 1 win away from World Series

CLEVELAND – The celebration spilling out of the first-base dugout was exuberant as Giancarlo Stanton silenced the crowd with a three-run homer in the sixth inning, his trip around the bases seemingly providing breathing room for what the Yankees hoped would be a low-stress tour through their heavily taxed bullpen.

They should have known that nothing comes easily in the postseason.

A wild back-and-forth battle was ultimately decided by Alex Verdugo’s run-scoring infield dribbler as the Yankees got to closer Emmanuel Clase for the second time in as many nights, now standing on the doorstep of the World Series after securing an 8-6 victory over the Guardians in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series.

“The key is to go play one more game – go out there and try to win that game,” Juan Soto said on the field after the game. “Forget about the series, just try to go out there and win the game today, like we did today. Just try to win the game, that’s all we need to do.”

Gleyber Torres added an RBI single before Tommy Kahnle notched his second career postseason save in the ninth. The American League’s top team during the regular season, the Yankees need one victory to secure their first trip to the Fall Classic since 2009. In all best-of-seven postseason series, teams leading 3-1 have gone on to win on 79 of 93 occasions (85%).

“I want a ring,” Stanton said on the field postgame. “Anything I can do to help us win. One step at a time. This was a good step, but we’ve got much more work to do.”

Stanton’s sixth-inning blast off Cade Smith gave the Bombers a four-run advantage going to the seventh. But the Yankees’ fatigued bullpen was not up to the task, beginning with Clay Holmes, who appeared for the fourth time in five days after surrendering the deciding homer in Game 3.

José Ramírez stroked a run-scoring double and Josh Naylor clipped a two-run double off Holmes, drawing Cleveland within a run. The Yankees called upon Mark Leiter Jr., who was added to the roster earlier in the day as an injury replacement for Ian Hamilton; the righty struggled after being acquired from the Cubs ahead of the Trade Deadline in July.

Leiter escaped without damage in the seventh, as Jhonkensy Noel flew out to deep left and Andrés Giménez struck out. But Cleveland tied the game in the eighth, as Bo Naylor doubled, then scored on David Fry’s soft dribbler back to the mound that Leiter fumbled, then was not secured by Anthony Rizzo at first base.

The memorable finish was preceded by early action from the visitors. If there was any question about how the Yankees would bounce back from a stunning 7-5, 10-inning loss in Thursday’s ALCS Game 3, it was answered after just two batters, as Soto launched a two-run homer off Cleveland starter Gavin Williams.

“That’s big-time, to throw the first punch,” Stanton said of Soto. “No lead is safe, but it was good to get the first punch, and a great battle back and forth, and just be able to keep it going.”

Dropped to the No. 8 spot in the lineup, Austin Wells added a solo homer in the second inning, becoming the first Yankees rookie catcher to hit a postseason homer.

Luis Gil started for New York, marking his first outing since Sept. 28. The right-hander completed four innings in his postseason debut, limiting Cleveland to Ramírez’s sacrifice fly and a Josh Naylor run-scoring single. Gil was the first Yankees rookie to start an ALCS game since Orlando Hernández faced Cleveland in 1998.