Cleveland All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase gave up two runs in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees moved closer to another World Series, beating the Guardians 8-6 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.
Gleyber Torres hit an RBI single and New York scored its go-ahead run on an error by shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who booted Alex Verdugo's grounder.
It was a messy ninth for Clase (0-2) as baseball's best reliever all season faltered for the second night in a row.
New York got three singles in the ninth off the right-hander, who gave up back-to-back homers in the eighth inning of Game 3 but got bailed out when the Guardians got a pair of two-run homers in their final two at-bats.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer and Juan Soto hit a two-run shot for the Yankees, who can advance to their 41st World Series with a win in Game 5 on Saturday.
The Guardians are facing elimination in the postseason for the second time. They rallied in the ALDS to get past Detroit and now will have to win three straight — two at Yankee Stadium — to have any chance of ending their 76-year World Series drought.
For the second straight night, New York's bullpen nearly blew a late lead. The Guardians scored three runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and threatened in the ninth, putting two runners on base.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone went to Tommy Kahnle for the last three outs and the right-hander was able to put away Cleveland, something New York's relievers couldn't do Thursday.
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