Guardians-Yankees: Highlights from New York's ALDS Game 5 win
Game 5 of the ALDS is in the books, with the New York Yankees recording a win over the Cleveland Guardians. New York's power shone through again, with Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge providing early home runs that put the game permanently out of reach. The Yankees will now advance to the ALCS and face the Houston Astros on a day's turnaround.
Here are the best sights, sounds and takeaways from the final game of the division series round.
Playoff schedule and bracket
Game 5 takeaways
Although his postseason to this point hasn't been as spectacular as his regular season, New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge appears to be turning an offensive corner right when his team most needs him. For the first time in these playoffs, he had a multi-hit performance in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians -- a night that was punctuated by the second-inning homer he belted for a key early insurance run.
That blast backed up yet another big fly from fellow Bomber Giancarlo Stanton, who has three career homers in winner-take-all playoff games. Only Judge has more in all of major league history.
It felt like Cleveland's night was over before it fully got started. After only 14 pitches, and Stanton's laser over the right-field fence, Guardians starter Aaron Civale was pulled. They immediately turned to their bullpen. As the Guardians enter the offseason, the chatter surrounding their team likely will center on manager Terry Francona's decision to go with the back-of-rotation right-hander, who was making his first-career postseason appearance Tuesday. Francona had said prior to Game 5 that he didn't "feel like it was the right thing" to have ace Shane Bieber pitch on three days' rest instead. That decision may have doomed Cleveland in the important elimination game.
As it advances with Tuesday's 5-1 win, New York's turnaround will be quick. The Yankees don't have much time to prepare for the ALCS and another postseason meeting with the Astros. First pitch of Game 1 will be at 7:37 p.m. ET in Houston on Wednesday, about 24 hours after the Yankees' ALDS ended in the Bronx. -- Coley Harvey
Yankees add another one
Naylor gets taunted
A familiar chant of "Who's your daddy?" rang out across Yankee Stadium as Josh Naylor flied out in his first at-bat. Naylor had a "rocking-the-baby" celebration after a home run off Gerrit Cole in Game 4, and the Yankee faithful let him hear it.
Yankees jump ahead
Fans in the right field stands got two treats, as Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run bomb in the first and Aaron Judge followed it up in the second with a solo shot. It's the fourth time Stanton and Judge have homered in the same postseason game, the most by a pair of teammates in Yankees history, according to ESPN Stats and Information research.
