Takeaways: Giancarlo Stanton lifts Yankees in ALCS Game 4

The New York Yankees pulled out a miraculous 8-6 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Friday. In the ninth inning, a fielding error by Brayan Rocchio and an RBI single by Gleyber Torres broke a 6-6 tie, bringing the Yankees within a victory of reaching the World Series.

Here are three takeaways from the action:

Giancarlo Stanton comes up in the clutch again

With the Yankees nursing a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning and needing a big hit, Stanton delivered, as he has throughout the postseason. With one out and runners on second and third, he turned on a 1-2 fastball, depositing it 404 feet over the left-center-field fence and giving New York all the cushion it would need.

For Stanton, the long ball was the 15th of his playoff career, moving him into a tie with Babe Ruth and teammate Aaron Judge for the fourth-most in Yankees’ history, per Stathead. He’s on an outstanding postseason run, going 9-of-30 with nine RBI and four home runs.

The Yankees’ slugger has three long balls in the ALCS alone, but perhaps none was more significant than his sixth-inning dinger, which drove in three runs the Yankees ultimately needed in another tight one against the Guardians.

Yankees offense may be enough to overcome shaky pitching and managerial decisions 

It may not have been a mistake for manager Aaron Boone to take out starter Gil after four innings, but how he handled the bullpen down the stretch nearly cost the Yankees another game in Cleveland. 

First, in a 6-2 game in the sixth inning, Boone used Clay Holmes a day after his Game 3 meltdown, putting him in with two on and no outs. Predictably, Holmes allowed the Guardians back into the game, giving up three runs after facing only four batters. 

Next, Boone chose to go to Mark Leiter Jr., making his postseason debut in a pressure-cooker situation with two on and only one out. Leiter got out of the sixth, but Boone left him in for the seventh, and the Guardians would eventually tie the score on a David Fry infield single. 

Thankfully for the Yankees, three long balls early on before a ninth-inning error and clutch RBI saved them. 

The Guardians may not have enough to topple Yankees

Friday presented a golden chance for the Guardians to even the ALCS, but they let it slip through their fingers. After a miraculous extra-inning victory in Game 3, Cleveland saw a potential win crumble in the ninth inning of Game 4 despite another gutsy performance from its offense.

Cleveland couldn’t have asked for more from the top of their order. The Nos. 1 through 4 hitters — Steven Kwan, Kyle Manzardo, Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor — combined to go 7-of-14 with five RBI and four runs scored.

There are questions about Stephen Vogt’s management of the team’s bullpen and his decision to pitch to Stanton in the sixth inning. But, while the Yankees bats bailed them out, the Guardians couldn’t do the same.

Now, despite 13 runs in two days, Cleveland enters Game 5 in a must-win situation, trailing the series 3-1.