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.
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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Guardians 5, Tigers 4 — Series tied 2-2
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Yankees 3, Royals 1 — NYY wins 3-1
Live42 updates
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The Yankees are on their way to the ALCS!
The Yankees beat the Royals 3-1 in Game 4, winning their ALDS 3-1.
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Luke Weaver comes in to close it out in the 9th
He gets Pasquantino, Perez and Gurriel in order to end it. Yankees win.
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Clay Holmes comes on in the 8th inning for the Yankees
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Royals *almost* tie it in the 7th
Instead, Gerrit Cole has made it through seven with six hits and one run allowed, no walks and four strikeouts.
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Royals on the board in the 6th!
Bobby Witt Jr. got on base with a single to right field, setting the stage for Vinnie Pasquantino’s double to get the Royals going. It’s Yankees 3, Royals 1 at the end of the sixth.
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The benches have cleared in Kansas City
The benches and bullpens have cleared in Kansas City. The Yankees and Royals are chirping at one another after New York turned a 3-6 double play and Maikel Garcia had words with some players.
No punches thrown. The crowd has dispersed. Yankees still lead, 3-0.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 11, 2024
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Giancarlo Stanton, have yourself a postseason
The Yankees tack on another run in the sixth.
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After 5, Yankees lead Royals 2-0
Gerrit Cole has allowed two hits and no walks and has struck out four Royals through five. He’s at just 61 pitches.
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Yankees knock Michael Wacha out in the 5th inning
Singles from Anthony Volpe, Jon Berti and then Gleyber Torres to drive in a run forced manager Matt Quatraro to make a change, swapping Wacha for Lucas Erceg. The reliever had to throw just two pitches to end the inning with a Juan Soto flyout.
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Guardians force Game 5!
With a 5-4 win, the series will go back to Cleveland for a decisive Game 5 on Saturday.
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CLE-DET: Guardians take 5-3 lead on safety squeeze
Cleveland adds another run on a safety squeeze bunt by David Fry.
The Guardians now lead 5-3 with one out and two runners on in the top of the ninth.
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CLE-DET: Guardians threatening to add to 4-3 lead
Two consecutive one-out singles by Brayan Rocchio and Steven Kwan (3-for-5) gives Cleveland runners on first and second with one out in the top of the ninth.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch is bringing in Will Vest to replace Jackson Jobe.
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NYY-KC: Yankees still lead in the 3rd
The Royals (specifically Tommy Pham) got into the hit column in the bottom of the second but didn’t get anything to show for it, as the rest of the inning went 1-2-3.
In the top of the third, Michael Wacha walked Aaron Judge to lead it off but then got a double play and a pop-out to Bobby Witt Jr.
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CLE-DET: Emmanuel Clase on in the 8th
Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase will get a chance to redeem himself after giving up Kerry Carpenter’s 3-run homer in Game 2. But he’ll have to get five outs to finish Game 4.
Tigers have runners on first and second with one out.
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CLE-DET: Colt Keith saves a run
Cleveland nearly added another run to its 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth. Will Brennan was on second base after a two-out double and probably would have scored had a grounder by Andres Gimenez gotten through for a hit.
But Colt Keith’s diving stop kept the ball in the infield, and he threw Gimenez out at first to end the inning.
Tigers coming up in the bottom of the eighth.
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NYY-KC: Yankees, 1, Royals 0 after 2 innings
Giancarlo Stanton led off the second with a double, but after that, the Yankees went down in order. In the bottom half, Gerrit Cole remained efficient, sending the Royals down in order.
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CLE-DET: David Fry hits 2-run homer for 4-3 Guardians lead
Pinch-hitter David Fry hits a two-run homer off Beau Brieske for a 4-3 Guardians lead.
Tigers left-hander Sean Guenther got the first two outs of the seventh inning, but Steven Kwan reached on a single.
Detroit manager AJ Hinch brought in right-hander Brieske to face Fry, and a wild pitch moved Kwan to second. Brieske then grooved a 97.5 mph fastball down the middle of the strike zone, and Fry did not miss.
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NYY-KC: Yankees in the driver’s seat after 1st inning
Gerrit Cole struck out two Royals hitters in an efficient, 1-2-3 bottom half of the first inning. Onto the second…
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CLE-DET: New postseason attendance record at Comerica Park
One night after setting a Comerica Park postseason record for attendance, the Tigers set a new mark.
How many Guardians fans made the drive from Cleveland to help out with that figure?
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NYY-KC: Yankees take early 1-0 lead
Just three pitches into the game, the Yankees strike first after a Gleyber Torres double and Juan Soto RBI single.
