2024 ALCS recap

The American League (AL) team that will be playing in the 2024 World Series officially punched their ticket this weekend.

The 2024 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a best-of-seven series between the No. 1 seeded New York Yankees and the No. 2 seeded Cleveland Guardians. Although it only took five games to figure out the winner, that stat is misleading because it was a very tightly-contested series.

The Guardians headed to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for Game 1. The wild hometown crowd helped their starting pitcher, Carlos Rodón pitch a game to remember.

The 31-year-old southpaw threw six innings and gave up only one run. Yankees outfield Juan Soto added to his surprising postseason resumé by bopping a solo shot

to open up the scoring in the bottom of the third.

Guardians’ pitcher Joey Cantillo relieved starting pitcher, Alex Cobb, and struggled with his command, spiking two wild pitches, each allowing the Yankees to score one. Guardians’ young shortstop Bryan Rocchio hit a solo home run too, but it wasn’t enough, as the Yankees won the game 5-2, and took a 1-0 series lead.

The Guardians tried to shake off their Game 1 loss, but Game 2 did not get off to a good start. The Yankees scored one in the first, then two in the second.

The Guardians’ offense strung a few hits together and scored two in their half of the fifth, but it was still no match for the Yankees’ powerful offense.

Aaron Judge delivered the finishing blow of Game 2 with a two-run shot in the seventh to widen the margin to four. Guardians’ star, José Ramírez hit a solo round-tripper in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as the two teams would head to Cleveland, with the Yankees’ 2-0 series lead.

In the second inning of Game 3, the Yankees drew first blood on an RBI single by Gleyber Torres. The Guardians countered in the third on a two-run home run by Kyle Manzardo to take their first lead of the series.

The Guardians made it a two-run game in the sixth on an RBI single by Andrés Giménez. With ice in his veins, Yankees’ Aaron Judge struck again with a two-run bomb to tie it in the eighth.

Right after Judge tied it, Giancarlo Stanton took the lead back for the Yankees with a clutch home run of his own. The Yankees added one more to their lead in the ninth to make it 5-3, but the scoring did not end after that.

With the Guardians down to their final out in Game 3, Jhonkensy “Big Christmas” Noel launched a home run to left to tie the game. Cleveland would wait until the tenth to walk it off with a David Fry two-run homer. They’d be riding high after the epic extra-inning win.

The Yankees turned the page quickly. On the second batter of Game 4, Juan Soto mashed a two-run home run. After that, the game was back and forth. Stanton hit a three-run homer, the Guardians would answer, and the game was tied, 6-6 in the ninth.

Cleveland brought in their lights-out closer, Emmanuel Clase in the ninth. The Yankees figured him out and rallied for two runs to take the lead, win the game, and only need one more win to clinch a trip to the 2024 World Series.

In a must-win Game 5, the Guardians scored first in the second when Bo Naylor doubled home his brother, Josh Naylor. The Guardians added one more in the fifth.

The Yankees tied it up with a home run by Stanton in the sixth. It would remain knotted up until the tenth.

In the tenth, Juan Soto came to bat for the Yankees with runners on first and second and two men out. He cranked the 1-2 offering into the night sky and into the seats.

Soto’s Game 5 heroics send the Yankees to the 2024 World Series. They will play for the Commissioner’s Trophy starting on Friday in either the Bronx against the Mets or Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

Chase Yingling is a third-year majoring in digital/print journalism. To contact him, email cey5100@psu.edu.