Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge staggered Cleveland with early homers, and the New York Yankees beat the Guardians 5-1 Tuesday in the decisive Game 5 of their AL Division Series to set up another rematch with Houston for the pennant.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone won his gamble by starting Nestor Cortes on three days' rest over Jameson Taillon, making the late switch after Monday night's rain caused a postponement.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona stayed the course with Aaron Civale instead of switching to 2020 Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber on short rest.
Civale had trouble throwing strikes, and the Guardians never recovered from Stanton's three-run homer just 21 pitches in. The sellout crowd of 48,178 cheered as the Yankees when Myles Straw hit a grounder for the final out.