The New York Yankees advanced to their 11th ALCS since 2000 with a 3-1 win over the Kansas City Royals in Thursday’s Game 4, and the Cleveland Guardians staved off elimination and forced a Game 5 with a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers.
The Yankees will now go home and get some rest, as the ALCS doesn’t begin until Monday. The Guardians and Tigers, meanwhile, head back to Cleveland for Game 5 on Saturday.
Yankees 3, Royals 1
The Yankees beat the Royals 3-1 in Thursday’s Game 4, with the final score mirroring the final state of their ALDS as New York advances to the American League Championship Series.
The Yankees got on the board after just three pitches, thanks to a Gleyber Torres leadoff single and a Juan Soto RBI double. Gerrit Cole took it from there, pitching an excellent seven innings with six hits and one allowed, no walks and four strikeouts. The offense tacked on one run in the fifth and sixth innings, with Giancarlo Stanton and Torres finishing with two hits and an RBI each. Luke Weaver notched the save with a clean ninth inning.
The Royals, meanwhile, couldn’t get much going on offense outside of their sixth-inning strike, when Bobby Witt Jr. singled to right field and Vinnie Pasquantino followed with an RBI double. They went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position, leaving four men on base. Kansas City starter Michael Wacha pitched 4 2/3 innings with six hits and two earned runs allowed, one walk and two strikeouts.
The Yankees will have to wait until Saturday night to find out whether they’ll be facing the Guardians or Tigers in the ALCS on Monday.
Guardians 5, Tigers 4
The Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers will play a decisive Game 5 in their ALDS on Saturday.
David Fry’s two-run, pinch-hit home run off Beau Brieske gave Cleveland a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning of Game 4 on Thursday. Fry later drove in another run in the ninth on a safety squeeze bunt that scored Brayan Rocchio.
Closer Emmanuel Clase got an opportunity to redeem himself for the three-run homer he gave up in Game 2 when Guardians manager Stephen Vogt brought him in with one out and two runners on in the eighth inning.
Clase retired the first two batters he faced. In the ninth, he gave up a run on a leadoff double by Justyn-Henry Malloy and an RBI grounder by Jace Jung. Then Clase struck out Matt Vierling to close out the 5-4 victory and force Game 5.
The Tigers are expected to start Tarik Skubal in Game 5, while Matthew Boyd will likely go for the Guardians.
Thursday’s ALDS Game 4 schedule:
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