Yankees defeat Guardians to reach first World Series since 2009
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Photo credit: © Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
Cam Lewis
Oct 20, 2024, 06:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 20, 2024, 10:24 EDT
The New York Yankees are off to the World Series for the first time since 2009.
After taking down the Kansas City Royals in four games in the American League Division Series, New York breezed past the Cleveland Guardians in five games in the Championship Series. The Yankees will now await the winner of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets to determine who they’ll face next week.
The Yankees won the first two games of the ALCS at home and then the Guardians made things interesting when the series shifted back to Cleveland. On the verge of falling behind 3-0 in the series, Jhonkensy Noel hit a two-out, ninth-inning home run to knot Game 3 at 5-5. In the tenth, David Fry launched a walk-off bomb to send the Guardians home with a win.
The Guardians continued to be a thorn in the side of the Yankees in Game 4. Giancarlo Stanton smashed a three-run homer in the sixth inning to put New York ahead by a score of 6-2. Cleveland rallied to tie the game in the eighth inning but the Yankees pulled back ahead with two more runs in the ninth to take a 3-1 series lead.
By the time Game 5 rolled around, Cleveland was out of magic. The Guardians scored in the second and fifth innings to take an early lead but gave it up in the sixth when Stanton sent a two-run shot over the fence. The score remained tied at 2-2 until the tenth inning when Juan Soto came to the plate with two runners on and two out.
There was an argument that Soto deserved to be named the Most Valuable Player of the ALCS after that at-bat but it went to Stanton instead. The slugger went 4-for-18 in the series and all four hits were home runs.
Two notable former Blue Jays will be heading to the World Series with the Yankees. Left-handed reliever Tim Mayza threw one scoreless appearance against Kansas City and one against Cleveland. Starting pitcher Marcus Stroman was left off New York’s ALDS roster but was added back for the ALCS. He hasn’t made an appearance in the playoffs since 2016 with Toronto.