The New York Yankees turned Game 3 of the American League division series on its head in the span of two batters.
The Yankees entered the top of the eighth inning trailing the Cleveland Guardians 3-1. After reliever Hunter Gaddis retired the first two batters, Juan Soto worked a walk to bring up Aaron Judge representing the tying run. Cleveland countered by bringing in lights-out closer Emmanuel Clase. And that's where things got crazy.
Clase got ahead 0-2, then threw a 99 mph cutter that missed the plate. On 1-2, he went back to the cutter, again at 99 mph, and Judge turned it around. The Yankees superstar launched the ball off the bat at 109.9 mph and sent an absolute laser just over the wall in right field to tie the game 3-3.
ALLLLLLLLLL RISE!
— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2024
AARON JUDGE GAME-TYING HOME RUN 🤯 pic.twitter.com/P2tQxBItoi
The Yankees dugout exploded as the ball left the park. But that wasn't the end of it.
Giancarlo Stanton stepped to the plate next and Clase, once again, got ahead of him 1-2. After Stanton fouled off two cutters, Clase threw a slider for the seventh pitch of the at-bat and he hung it. Stanton blasted it 390 feet to center field at 106.1 mph. It cleared the fence and sent New York's dugout into a frenzy.
BIG G
— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2024
BIG HOMER
OH MY GOODNESS
THE @YANKEES LEAD pic.twitter.com/BrYT6NYMsv
The Yankees poured out of the dugout to greet him with their newfound 4-3 lead.
Look at the dugout after Giancarlo Stanton’s go-ahead HR. There’s a stunned silence here. pic.twitter.com/2JZSlWnn2R
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) October 17, 2024
Amazing. Simply amazing.
Clase was nearly perfect during the regular season, racking up 47 saves, an ERA of 0.61 and a WHIP of 0.66. After that inning and those two home runs, his ERA in the 2024 MLB playoffs is now up to 9.00.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton Hit Back-to-Back HRs to Revive Yankees Late in Game 3.
