Yankees eliminate Guardians to set up ALCS showdown vs. Astros

NEW YORK — Houston, here come the Yankees.

Riding off a strong start from lefty Nestor Cortes, the Yankees booked a ticket to the ALCS with a 5-1 victory over the Guardians. The Game 5 victory capped a back-and-forth series where the Yankees faced elimination in Game 4 in Cleveland and the rain delayed multiple contests.

New York now faces off against the Astros in a best-of-seven series that starts in Houston on Wednesday when Justin Verlander and Jameson Taillon go head-to-head in Game 1. During the regular season, the Astros and Yankees finished with the two best records in the American League, respectively, while Houston took five-of-seven games against New York during the regular season.

Giancarlo Stanton put the first runs on the scoreboard in the first inning, hitting a line drive home run on a 87.5 mph cutter from Cleveland starter Aaron Civale over the right field fence, scoring Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo and putting the Yankees on top, 3-0. Civale lasted just one more batter, throwing just 26 pitches and recording a single out before Guardians manager Terry Francona gave him the hook.

Aaron Judge tagged on another run in the second inning, hitting a 81.3 mph curveball from Sam Hentges over the right-center field wall to make the score 4-0. The home run marked Judge's fourth home-run in a winner-take-all game — the most in major league history — and the 13th homer for the towering slugger in his postseason career, catapulting him past Reggie Jackson and Yogi Berra for the fifth-most home runs in Yankees postseason history.

The Yankees faced a scary moment in the third inning when shortstop Oswaldo Cabrera collided with outfielder Aaron Hicks on a bloop pop-up to left field off the bat of Cleveland