The Yankees rally late to hold off the Guardians and take the ALCS lead 3-1

CLEVELAND – Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase gave up two runs in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees moved closer to another World Series, defeating Cleveland 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 score on an error by shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who batted Alex Verdugo's grounder to boot.

It was a messy ninth-place finish for Clase (0-2), as baseball's best player all season failed for the second straight year.

New York scored three singles in the ninth inning against the right-hander, who gave up two consecutive home runs in the eighth inning of Game 3, but was saved when the Guardians hit two home runs in two runs in their final two innings of at-bats.

“I just get it done,” Giancarlo Stanton said after the game. “He is a tough opponent when it comes to scoring points. The most important thing is to get him into the game.”

Stanton hit a three-run home run and Juan Soto added a two-run shot for the Yankees, who can advance to their 41st World Series with a win in Game 5 on Saturday.

For Stanton it was the seventh postseason hit against the Guardians – all home runs. He has three in this series, making him the second-most in a single ALCS in Yankees franchise history (Robinson Cano had four in the 2010 ALCS).

“I want a ring,” Stanton said of his postseason success. “Anything I can do to help us win and this was a big step. But there is still a lot to do.”

The Guardians are facing elimination in the postseason for the second time. They made a strong showing in the AL Division Series to get past Detroit and now need to win three straight – two at Yankee Stadium – to have any chance of ending their 76-year World Series drought.

For the second straight game, New York's bullpen nearly squandered a late lead. The Guardians scored three runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and threatened in the ninth by putting two runners on base.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone chose Tommy Kahnle over Luke Weaver for the final three outs, and the right-hander was able to shut out Cleveland, something the New York relievers couldn't do on Thursday.

Stanton's 404-foot drive in the sixth inning off Cade Smith gave the Yankees a 6-2 lead.

Cleveland scored three times in Game 7 and rookie Jhonkensy Noel, who had a ninth-inning pinch-hit in Game 3, sent shivers through Progressive Field by flying to the warning track.

Cleveland tied the score in the eighth when the Yankees, injured in the field and on the bases, botched an easy play in the infield.

Bo Naylor doubled and moved up on an infield grounder. Mark Leiter Jr., who was added to the Yankees' ALCS roster earlier in the day as an injury replacement, got Steven Kwan to show up. Leiter appeared to get out of the inning when David Fry, one of Cleveland's home run stars in Game 3, hit a slow grounder to right.

Leiter rushed the ball to the turf and grabbed it with his bare hands as he approached the foul line toward first man, but the ball went through the legs of first baseman Anthony Rizzo, allowing Naylor to score the game-winning run.

Stanton, who hit back-to-back home runs with Aaron Judge in the eighth inning on Thursday, gave the Yankees a four-run lead with his 15th home run of the season.

Smith soloed and Judge singled before Stanton drove a 1-2 fastball from Smith into the stands, where a sizable number of Yankees fans were waiting for it to land.

Stanton tied Carlos Beltrán and Nelson Cruz for the most home runs in the first 35 playoff games of his career. Stanton also achieved a duel with Judge and Babe Ruth, placing him fourth in club history.

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.