The Guardians stage an unlikely comeback to destroy the Yankees

CLEVELAND – The first two games of the ALCS lacked drama.

The Yankees and Guardians filled the final two innings of Game 3 with more than enough to make up for it.

After the teams traded blows with stunning home runs in the eighth and ninth innings, David Fry delivered the knockout blow with a two-run home run off Clay Holmes in the tenth inning, giving the Guardians a 7-5 win on Thursday. Victory night at Progressive Field.

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hit back-to-back home runs off Emmanuel Clase to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead early in the eighth inning.

They even added a sure run in the bottom of the ninth, but that only made it more painful when Jhonkensy Noel returned the favor in the bottom of the ninth with a game-winning two-run throw to Luke Weaver.

With the Yankees one shot away from advancing to their first World Series since 2009, they take a 2-1 lead into Friday's Game 4.

After Judge and Stanton's monstrous hits in the eighth inning, the Yankees put together a sure run in the beginning of the ninth inning, making it a 5-3 game at the end of the frame.

Weaver, pitching for the seventh time in the Yankees' seventh playoff game, recorded the final out in the eighth and went 0-2 against Lane Thomas with two outs in the ninth.

Thomas fought back to a full count and doubled before Weaver made a switch up the middle and Noel buried it for a game-winning shot.

It was the second straight game in which Weaver allowed a home run after being dominant for nearly a month since taking over.

For the first time in the series, the Yankees allowed the Guardians' big bullpen to take the ball with a lead. Things were going as expected until Judge and Stanton left Progressive Field in stunned silence.

The Yankees entered the eighth inning trailing 3-1 and had only one hit since the second inning as left-hander Matt Boyd and two relievers largely kept them out of action.

Hunter Gaddis got two quick outs before striking out Juan Soto on four pitches, prompting the Guardians to call Clase.

The flame-throwing right-hander took a 0-2 lead against Judge and then, on a 1-2 count, threw a 99-mph cutter to the outside edge that Judge smoked into right field, just high enough to clear the wall for one to overcome a two-run home run that tied the game 3-3.

Stanton was next and fell behind 2-0 again, but fouled three throws and then got a 1-2 slider that he smashed into right-center field for a 4-3 lead as the Yankees ran out of the dugout in celebration.

Clase had allowed just two home runs and five earned runs over 74 ⅓ innings during a dominant regular season.

Then, within minutes of each other on Thursday night, he gave up likely season-changing home runs to Judge and Stanton.

Through the first five games of the playoffs, Judge had another quiet October, batting just 2-for-15 with six walks.

But after crushing a two-run home run for insurance runs in Game 2, he delivered the biggest postseason swing of his career with his game-winning shot on Thursday.

For Stanton, it was the veteran DH's latest October heroics, hitting three home runs in these playoffs.

By the eighth inning, the Yankees were playing another sloppy game that looked like they were catching up.

Jon Berti, starting at first base for Anthony Rizzo against lefty Boyd, made two defensive errors that helped the Guardians score two runs.

And Jose Trevino, making his first playoff start for struggling Austin Wells, delivered an RBI single in the second inning but was then picked off from first base to end a rally.