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The New York Yankees have the advantage in the American League Championship Series after downing the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Juan Soto got things started for the Yankees with a solo home run in the bottom of the third to make it 1-0.
New York then used a pair of pitching mishaps to get on the board in the third as Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton came across the plate on two wild pitches from Joey Cantillo. In the fourth, Judge added to the lead with a sac fly that brought Gleyber Torres home.
Cleveland finally got its first run in the sixth inning as Brayan Rocchio went yard, but Stanton canceled it out with a homer of his own in the seventh to make it a 5-1 Yankees lead. Steven Kwan hit an RBI single in the top of the eighth to cut into the deficit, but Yankees star closer Luke Weaver came in to prevent any further damage behind four strikeouts.
The Yankees got exactly what they were hoping to get out of Soto when they traded for him this offseason. The star went 2-for-3 with a homer and also got on base with a walk.
After the big night from Soto and the Yankees, fans had high praise for the Bronx Bombers.
The Yankees’ five runs on Monday were their most since Game 1 of the divisional series when they had six against the Kansas City Royals. They will need that kind of offensive production and more if they want to reach the World Series for the first time since 2009.
New York will look to get one step closer to ending its World Series drought on Tuesday when it takes on Cleveland at home for Game 2.
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