The New York Yankees take a 2-0 ALCS lead when Aaron Judge hits his first HR of the postseason

CNN
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The New York Yankees continued to look like the best team in the American League with a 6-3 Game 2 win over the Cleveland Guardians and a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series (ALCS).

For a team that already seemed well-positioned to go to an MLB-record 41st. To start the World Series, the Yankees received another positive sign when regular-season home run leader and AL MVP leader Aaron Judge hit his first long ball of the 2024 postseason late Tuesday to win.

The Bronx Bombers had to capitalize on their chances of getting closer to their 28th MLB title when they entered Tuesday night with big-game pitcher Gerrit Cole in the starting lineup. The Yankees' offense gave Cole an early lead with a run in the first inning and two more in the second to quickly take a 3-0 lead.

Cole was effective early, but as his pitch count increased, Yankees manager Aaron Boone turned to the bullpen when his ace ran into trouble in the fifth inning. The 34-year-old right-hander exited the game after allowing two runs in just 4.3 innings, helping the Guardians cut New York's lead to one.

However, the Yankees added a sure run in the sixth inning and then Judge put the game out of reach with a two-run home run in the seventh inning. The 6-foot-7-inch star hammered a high-heater from Guardians reliever Hunter Gaddis 414 feet straight to center field, extending the score to 6-2 and tying the game despite an extra run by Cleveland early in the ninth passage destroyed.

After the game, Judge told reporters he wasn't sure if the ball would immediately pass the wall on his home run.

“I was excited for it to come out,” Judge told reporters. “On these windy, cool nights you never know what the ball will do when you hit it in the middle here. But the ghosts made their way safely to Monument Park.”

The Guardians were also hampered that night by poor defense – two costly Cleveland errors led to two unearned runs for the Yankees that night – and a rowdy crowd in the Bronx.

Judge credited the Yankees supporters for energizing the team.

“The energy of the fans, yeah, they were loud at the beginning,” Judge said. “I took a short break there but every time we score runs that place explodes.

“It’s special, there’s nothing like it in baseball.”

The Guardians hope to change the dynamic and give their fans something to cheer about when the ALCS moves to Cleveland for Game 3 on Thursday night.