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Yankees Advance to World Series for First Time Since 2009

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The New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians in a dramatic Game Five Saturday night to win their first American League pennant in 15 years. Juan Soto was the hero in extras, hitting a go-ahead, three-run home run with two outs in the 10th inning after a long at-bat.

Yankees Win First American League Pennant in 15 Years

Trading Blows

The incredible drama continued for the third straight night in Cleveland. With their backs against the wall, the Guardians grabbed the early momentum. The Yankees opened the first inning with two straight hits. However, a bad send from third base coach Luis Rojas led to Gleyber Torres being gunned down at home trying to score from first on Soto’s double. Once Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee escaped a bases-loaded jam to end the frame, he quickly settled in. He threw up zeroes for the first five innings. A Bo Naylor double after an epic 10-pitch battle against Carlos Rodón put Cleveland on the board. They tacked on another run in the fifth on a Steven Kwan RBI single. Rodón exited one batter later.

The Yankees answered in the sixth off Bibee. Back-to-back singles from the resurgent Torres and Soto set the table for Aaron Judge, whose struggles continued with a double play groundout. With Torres on third, up came Giancarlo Stanton. As he did all series, he worked a tough at-bat, engaging in a battle of wills with Bibee. The Guardians ace eventually took Stanton’s bait, throwing one over the plate after trying to get him to whiff on several outside pitches. Stanton did not miss, hitting a missile to left field that carried out in a hurry to tie the game.

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Free Baseball

Both bullpens held serve until extra innings. Notably, Emmanuel Clase bounced back from two rough outings to throw a scoreless ninth. Hunter Gaddis came in to pitch the 10th. After Austin Wells drew a one-out walk, Alex Verdugo hit a grounder to second baseman Andres Giménez. In his haste to turn a double play, shortstop Bryan Rocchio missed Giménez’s throw, and everyone was safe. Torres struck out, but this offseason’s top free agent strode to the plate.

Soto worked a seven-pitch at-bat, fouling off four straight. On the seventh pitch, he got a high fastball he liked and gave it a rip. After being in the air for what seemed like an eternity, the ball landed beyond the right-center field wall to put the Yankees up 5-2. Luke Weaver finished Cleveland off in his second inning of work to send the Yankees to their first Fall Classic in 15 years. Stanton, thanks to his multiple clutch homers, got series MVP honors.

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World Series Bound

This is the Yankees’ 41st American League pennant, the most all-time. They will now try to win a record 28th World Series title. Since they wrapped up the American League Championship Series in five games, they will have ace Gerrit Cole ready to go in Game One of the World Series. He will face either the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Mets, who have yet to settle the NLCS. The Dodgers lead the series 3-2, and they will return home with two chances to close it out.

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Photo Credit: © David Richard-Imagn Images

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