Guardians edge out Yankees in HR in 10th ALCS Game 3

CLEVELAND — Rookie slugger Junkinse Noel hit a tying homer with two outs in the ninth and David Frye connected on a two-run shot in the 10th, rallying Cleveland past the New York Yankees 7-5 on Thursday and pulling the Guardians to 2-1 in the American League Championship Series.

Cleveland took a 3-1 lead in the eighth before Aaron Judge hit a homer off All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase and Giancarlo Stanton’s leadoff single.

With the Guardians trailing 5-3 and one out from a 3-0 series deficit, Lane Thomas doubled against Luke Weaver in the ninth inning before Noel tied the game with his towering homer.

Bo Naylor singled to lead off the 10th against Clay Holmes, and Brian Rocchio sacrificed. Naylor took third in the rematch before Frye, who hit a saving run homer for the division series against Detroit, sent a 1-2 sinker into the left field stands.

Frey’s teammates rallied, and cheers exploded at Progressive Stadium.

Cleveland can tie the series with a win on Friday.

Fry’s swing ended an instant classic in October.

The Guardians, who had defied the odds all season, were moments away from a heartbreaking loss after leading by two runs in eighth place. Noel, who made his debut in June, gave them new life when he crushed Weaver’s 1-0 pitch over the wall in left field to tie the score at 5-5.

Thomas doubled off Weaver before Noel, known as “Big Christmas,” hit one of the biggest home runs in Cleveland history.

As he rounded the bases, Progressive Field fans danced on their seats and in the aisles in a moment reminiscent of Rajai Davis’ tying homer off Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning of the 2016 World Series Game 7.

Fry and Noel’s hits came after Judge and Stanton connected with the homers, putting the Yankees up 4-3 against the Klass.

But the Rangers aren’t done yet, and they still have a chance to end their longest World Series drought, which stretched back to 1948. At this point, it looks as if they can do anything.

Judge returned in Game 2 but was batting just .143 (3 of 21) with eight strikeouts last October before coming to the plate against Clase, the AL’s saves leader and MLB’s most feared prospect in 2024.

After falling behind 1-2 in the count, Judge, who had been on the field taking batting practice five hours before the game, sat down and drove a 99-mph cutter off Clase the opposite way to right, the ball clearing the outfield wall.

New York players streamed from the dugout to celebrate as Judge, arguably the AL’s best player after striking out 58 homers in the regular season, rounded the bases after his 15th homer of the postseason.

The Yankees, who had been down three hits through the first seven innings, were still exchanging hugs and five-hit hits when Stanton crushed a 1-2 slider from Clase, sending him over the center field wall.

Clase was flawless all season, allowing just five runs and recording 34 straight saves while dominating nearly every time he took the mound. But it was a three-run homer in the ninth by Detroit’s Kerry Carpenter in the ALDS before Judge and Stanton got it within eight pitches.

New York had two outs in the ninth inning but scored just one run on Gleyber Torres’ sacrifice fly. Eli Morgan finished the inning by throwing a third strike past Juan Soto.

Rookie Kyle Manzardo hit a two-run homer in the third inning for Cleveland.

The 30th postseason game between the Guardians and Yankees was another hotly contested matchup between two franchises that know each other well at this time of year. This is their seventh meeting in the qualifiers.

Cleveland finally got some length from the start as Matthew Boyd went five innings, the most Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has allowed in the postseason. The left-hander gave up two hits in the second before retiring 10 in a row, seven on easy pitches.