The New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians at home on Tuesday by the score of 5-1 in Game 5 of their ALDS series. The game was postponed from Monday due to weather. But once first pitch came at the Bronx, these Yanks were more than ready to advance to face the hated Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.
Giancarlo Stanton got things started in the first inning with a three-run blast off Indians starter Aaron Cival. It was a 379-foot opposite field shot that left Stanton’s bat at 107.5 miles-per-hour.
Then, in the second inning, all-time single-season American League HR leader Aaron Judge broke out of a major slump to blast a solo homer for a 4-0 Yankees lead.
This one was more of a towering blast than Stanton’s first-inning homer, but it landed in nearly the same vacinity while leaving Judge’s bat at 114.2 miles-per-hour.
That was pretty much all New York Yankees starter Nestor Cortes needed in this one. He pitched five inning of one-run ball, yielding three hits while striking out two in an efficient effort. Jonathan Loáisiga, Clay Holmes and Wandy Peralta would combine to pitch four scoreless innings, culminating in a 5-1 Yankees win in this decisive Game 5.
The New York Yankees now head to the ALCS to take on a Houston Astros team that made quick work of the Seattle Mariners in a three-game sweep in the ALDS.
New York last took on Houston in the playoffs back in 2019 when it lost to the Astros in six games in the ALCS. Houston went on to lose to the Washington Nationals in the World Series that year. Back in 2017, the Yanks also lost to Houston in the league championship series, falling in seven games to the eventual champions.
Much of the MLB world will have to decide between rooting for the “Evil Empire” or a Houston team that has been labeled by many as cheaters stemming from its win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the aforementioned 2017 series.