They may have won it in five games, but the New York Yankees did not make the American League Championship Series easy on themselves.
After splitting a magnificent Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Friday, the Yankees downed the Cleveland Guardians 5–2 Saturday evening in 10 innings to win their first AL pennant since 2009. The Guardians jumped out to an early 2–0 lead, only to watch New York designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton club a tying two-run home run to tie the game in the sixth inning.
Both bullpens worked scoreless seventh, eighth and ninth innings, and Cleveland pitcher Hunter Gaddis was able to get two outs in the top of the 10th. Yankees right fielder Juan Soto, however, all but ended affairs by clobbering a go-ahead three-run home run to dead center…