Photo credit: D. Benjamin Miller
New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians
The Yankees punched their ticket to the ALCS after taking down the Royals in four games. New York beat Kansas City 3-1 on Thursday night to seal the deal off the back of star pitcher Gerrit Cole. Cole went Seven innings, only allowing one run in the sixth, but that was enough for the Yankees to score three of their own in the fifth and sixth to advance to their 19th ALCS appearance.
The Yankees will face off against the Guardians, who are riding high after taking the final two games against the Tigers. The game 4 hero was David Fry, who hit a two-run home run and executed a safety squeeze to give them a 2 run lead, which closer Emmanuel Clase held to take it to a game five. The Guardians coasted through that game, thanks to a Lane Thomas grand slam, to take them to their first ALCS since 2016.
New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
A recreation of the 2015 NLCS is on the horizon. The Mets took care of business against Philadelphia, allowing only three runs in the final two games. The Mets needed only four games to advance. Now they’re looking to repeat what they did nine years ago – beat the Dodgers – and this time win the World Series, too.
The formidable Los Angeles Dodgers will look to make the World Series for the first time since the COVID-shortened 2020 season. L.A. has been a heavy favorite for years now, and this season is no different after the team spent the most money in baseball by a large margin and built a roster with stars everywhere you look. It took the Dodgers 5 games to take down the San Diego Padres, but a fantastic pitching performance by Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed them to slip away with the win.
