Yankees complete fightback
A pair of Didi Gregorius home runs capped off an unlikely comeback from the New York Yankees as they overcome a two-game American League Division Series deficit to eliminate the Cleveland Indians.
Gregorius struck early at Cleveland’s Progressive Field yesterday, lifting a solo shot over the wall in right field in the first inning before repeating the dose with a man on first base in the third, as the Yankees went on to claim a 5-2 win.
Both home runs came off the pitching of Corey Kluber who is expected to be named the American League’s top pitcher of the regular season.
However, the Cleveland ace was pulled in the fourth inning after falling behind 3-0 in the winner-take-all American League Division Series match.
Despite a fifth-inning rally that saw the Indians plate two runs off New York starting pitcher CC Sabathia, the home side was unable to add to its score as the Yankees bull-pen shut the Cleveland bats down.
With the match still in the balance, left-fielder Brett Gardner added two insurance runs with a single to right field which plated centre-fielder Aaron Hicks, before third-baseman Todd Frazier raced home on a fielding error.
The Indians went into the postseason with the best record in the American League and were favoured to make the World Series. The Yankees, on the other hand, had to win a wildcard match against the Minnesota Twins to advance into the division series.
And, while they were tested, the opening two games of the best-of-five series went the way of the Indians as they travelled to New York with a 2-0 series lead.
Momentum shifted in the third game of the series when a solo home run by first-baseman Greg Bird off Indians reliever Andrew Miller earned the Bronx Bombers a 1-0 win in game three.
The Yankees then pounced on four defensive errors from the Indians to score six of seven runs in a 7-3 win in Tuesday’s game-four to force an all-or-nothing encounter in Cleveland.
The Yankees will meet the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series, which begins tomorrow.
Earlier, the Washington Nationals rode a Michael A. Taylor grand slam to a 5-0 win at Wrigley Field to force an all-or-nothing game of their own against the defending champion Chicago Cubs.
The Nationals went into the National League Division Series with the home field advantage, but surrendered it immediately as they dropped game one.
The sides will meet in Washington today, with the Los Angeles Dodgers waiting to face the winner in the National League Championship Series, which begins on Sunday (NZ time).