ALCS Game 1: Yankees surge past Guardians to grab 5-2 win, take 1-0 series lead

Both Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto hit solo home runs on Monday to power the Yankees to the Game 1 win

The New York Yankees got the jump in the American League Championship Series on Monday.

The Yankees flew past the Cleveland Guardians to grab a 5-2 win in Game 1 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium. That gave them a 1-0 lead in the series and has them three wins away from what would be their first World Series since 2009.

The Yankees, with pop star Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in attendance in the Bronx, took off in the third inning Monday. First, it was Juan Soto who opened the game with a solo home run to deep center field. That was his first home run this postseason.

Joey Cantillo fell apart a bit on the mound after stepping in for starter Alex Cobb. He allowed two more Yankees runs on wild pitches, which gave New York a 3-0 lead. Cantillo eventually struck out Alex Verdugo to end the inning — his second wild pitch bounced in front of the plate, which allowed Giancarlo Stanton to sneak home — but he walked two more batters in the next inning before he was replaced by Pedro Avila.

The Yankees added another run in the fourth when Aaron Judge hit a sacrifice fly to score Gleyber Torres, which pushed the lead to four.

While the Guardians finally got on the board in the sixth off a Brayan Rocchio solo home run and added another run when Steven Kwan hit an RBI single in the eighth, that was as close as they got. The Yankees scored one more off a Stanton solo shot in the seventh and held on to grab the three-run win.

Yankees starter Carlos Rodón had nine strikeouts and allowed three hits in his six innings on the mound. Luke Weaver came in for a five-out save, and he closed the game by striking out Austin Hedges. Weaver is the first pitcher since 2017 to record three saves of more than three outs in a single postseason.

The two teams will run it back Tuesday before the series shifts to Cleveland for Game 3. The Guardians haven't been past the ALDS since they fell to the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 World Series.

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER38 updates
  • Final: Yankees 5, Guardians 2

    And that'll do it. The Yankees officially get the win to take a 1-0 series lead over the Guardians.

  • That's a quick inning for the Guardians there, so we'll head to the ninth. The Yankees are now just three outs away from a Game 1 win.

  • Luke Weaver gets out of a jam

    Luke Weaver gets the Yankees out of the eighth, striking out pinch-hitter Will Brennan and getting Jose Ramirez to ground out to second on five pitches.

    Yankees coming up in the bottom of the eighth.

  • Guardians cut deficit to 5–2

    Steven Kwan singles to drive in Andres Gimenez, cutting the Yankees' lead to 5–2.

    That's enough for Aaron Boone, who brings in closer Luke Weaver for a five-out save opportunity.

  • Guardians have runners on 2B and 3B with no outs after interference call

    Guardians get two runners on with one out in the top of the eighth. Andres Gimenez singles, then Brayan Rocchio hits a single. However, Tim Hill is ruled to have interfered with Rocchio as he rounded first base. So Gimenez is awarded third base, while Rocchio gets second.

  • Giancarlo Stanton gives Yankees 5–1 lead

    Erik Sabrowski almost got out of the seventh inning, retiring Aaron Judge and Austin Wells. He then had one strike on Giancarlo Stanton, who crushed a ball to deep left field.

    A no-doubter of a home run.

  • Clay Holmes throws a scoreless 7th

    Three up, three down for the Guardians in the top of the seventh. Lane Thomas grounded out to second base, Josh Naylor flew out to center field, and pinch-hitter Kyle Manzardo struck out.

    Seventh-inning stretch time!

  • Clay Holmes now pitching for Yankees

    Erik Sabrowski struck out Juan Soto to end the bottom of the sixth. Clay Holmes is now taking the mound for the Yankees.

    Carlos Rodon's final line: 6 innings, 1 run, 3 hits and 9 strikeouts.

  • Pitching change for Cleveland

    After striking out Alex Verdugo and getting Gleyber Torres to fly out to center, Pedro Avila is out of the ballgame. Left-hander Erik Sabrowski now in for the Guardians.

  • Long Story Short

    MLB.com's Yankees beat writer Bryan Hoch is having some fun with Taylor Swift in the ballpark:

  • Carlos Rodon gets out of the 6th

    Carlos Rodon gets out of the top of the sixth, but Jose Ramirez hit his last pitch (of a nine-pitch at-bat) deep to left center. Aaron Judge tracked it down for the final out of the inning.

    Rodon retired three consecutive batters after giving up Brayan Rocchio's home run, getting a Steven Kwan groundout to third base and a David Fry flyout to right before Ramirez gave his ball a ride.

    That was probably Rodon's last inning. He has thrown 93 pitches.

  • Guardians on the board

    Brayan Rocchio breaks up Carlos Rodon's streak of 11 consecutive batters retired with a leadoff home run to left field.

    That cuts the Yankees' lead to 4–1.

  • Guardians get much needed 1-2-3 inning

    Pedro Avila calmed things down for Cleveland in the bottom of the fifth, retiring the side in order.

    Jazz Chisholm Jr. grounded out to second base, Anthony Volpe flew out to the warning track in right field, and Anthony Rizzo flew out to left field.

    To the top of the sixth we go with the Yankes leading 4–0.

  • Carlos Rodon is rolling

    Two more strikeouts for Carlos Rodon in a 1-2-3 top of the fifth. He has nine strikeouts for the game and needed only 11 pitches to finish out the frame.

    Rodon has allowed only two hits through five innings on 70 pitches.

  • 3 fly ball outs for the Yankees in the 4th

    Pedro Avila gets three fly ball outs, though one scored a run. Aaron Judge, Austin Wells and Giancarlo Stanton each fly out, and the Guardians finally get out of the fourth inning.

  • Aaron Judge has first RBI of the postseason

    Yankees lead 4–0 on an Aaron Judge sacrifice fly to center field.

  • Cue up "Wild Thing"

    Joey Cantillo's control continues to be an issue. After bouncing two wild pitches and letting two runs score in the third, the left-hander threw two more wild pitches.

    He walked Gleyber Torres to lead off the frame. Torres then advanced to second with another wild pitch, throwing a curveball that didn't curve and went high over Bo Naylor. One more bounced pitch moved Torres to third.

    After walking Juan Soto, Cantillo is out. Runners on first and third with no outs as Pedro Avila takes the mound for Cleveland.

  • No trouble in the 4th for Carlos Rodon

    The fourth inning was where Carlos Rodon ran into trouble during his ALDS Game 2 start versus the Royals.

    But he cruises through the fourth against the Guardians, getting Jose Ramirez to line out to center feld before striking out Lane Thomas and Josh Naylor to end the frame.

  • Another wild pitch! Yankees lead 3–0

    Joey Cantillo bounced another pitch in front of home plate, and Bo Naylor can't block it. That brings home Giancarlo Stanton for a 3–0 Yankees lead.

    Cantillo struck out Alex Verdugo to end the third, but his wildness cost the Guardians.

  • Wild pitch gives Yankees 2–0 lead

    Joey Cantillo skips a pitch in front of the plate for a wild pitch. Bo Naylor can't get it, and Aaron Judge scores for a 2–0 Yankees lead.

    Cantillo then walked Anthony Rizzo to reload the bases, prompting a visit from Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis.

  • Alex Cobb is out

    Alex Cobb walked Giancarlo Stanton after being checked on by trainers. That was followed by getting Jazz Chisholm Jr. to fly out to left. But after walking Anthony Volpe to load the bases, Stephen Vogt got his starting pitcher out of the game.

    Left-hander Joey Cantillo is in for the Guardians to face Anthony Rizzo.

  • Trainers check on Alex Cobb

    After walking Aaron Judge on seven pitches, trainers come out to check on Alex Cobb. He's been dealing with a blister and cracked fingernail.

    He's staying in the game, however, and struck out Austin Wells on a splitter.

  • Yankees strike first

    Juan Soto has his first postseason home run as a Yankee, crushing a hanging sinker to center field.

    Yankees lead, 1–0.

  • A 1-2-3 inning for Carlos Rodon

    Carlos Rodon sandwiched strikeouts of Brayan Rocchio and David Fry around a Steven Kwan flyout to left field. He finished the top of the third in 10 pitches.

  • Yankees threaten but do not score

    Alex Cobb has better control of his sinker than he did in ALDS Game 3 versus Detroit. He struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. with it, then got Anthony Volpe to ground out to third.

    But Anthony Rizzo hit that sinker for a single in his return to the Yankees lineup. That was followed by another single from Alex Verdugo.

    Cobb finished the inning by getting Gleyber Torres to ground out to third.

  • Scoreless top of 2nd for Carlos Rodon

    After Josh Naylor struck out to lead off the second, Jhonkensy Noel got a one-out single. But Carlos Rodon retired Bo Naylor on a fly out to right field and struck out Andres Gimenez to get out of the inning.

  • Yankees fans remember Josh Naylor

    Carlos Rodon struck Josh Naylor out with a slider to begin the top of the second inning.

  • Suite sighting for Taylor and Travis

    Was this Taylor and Travis' first sighting on the TBS telecast or was this only shown on MLB's Twitter account?

  • Alex Cobb escapes with no runs allowed

    After allowing two consecutive singles to begin the bottom of the first, Alex Cobb struck out Aaron Judge, got Austin Wells to ground out to second base, and ended the inning with Giancarlo Stanton flying out to left field.

    (Did the wind hold up that fly ball? Maybe...)

  • Aaron Judge called out on strikes

    Aaron Judge struck out looking. But Alex Cobb got an extremely generous call on a splitter that was low and inside, way out of the strike zone.

  • Yankees have a threat brewing

    Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto have both hit singles to begin the bottom of the first.

    Two runners on, no outs.

  • Carlos Rodon throws a scoreless 1st inning

    Carlos Rodon gave up a one-out single to David Fry after retiring Steven Kwan. But he followed up by getting Jose Ramirez to fly out and striking out ALDS Game 5 hero Lane Thomas.

    Yankees coming up in the bottom of the first.

  • Stiff wind in right field

    Jose Ramirez's fly ball to right field ran into the strong wind blowing in at the part of Yankee Stadium.

  • Kwan vs. Rodon: 9-pitch at-bat

    Steven Kwan flys out to lead off the top of the first inning. But he grinded out a nine-pitch at-bat versus Carlos Rodon.

  • Pregame festivities and intros underway at Yankee Stadium

  • Warning: Taylor Swift in attendance at Yankee Stadium

    It'll be OK, folks. We're all used to this now, right?

    Travis Kelce is rooting for his hometown Guardians.

  • Yankees lineup, Game 1

    Carlos Rodon gets the starting nod for the Yankees. He started Game 2 of the ALDS versus Kansas City.

  • Guardians lineup, Game 1

    Alex Cobb gets the start for Cleveland. He's been the No. 3 starter in the Guardians' postseason rotation: