Yankees advance to first World Series since 2009 after defeating the Guardians in Game 5

The New York Yankees are going to the World Series after beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday.

It’s a return to baseball’s biggest stage for the Yankees, who have not played in the World Series since winning it in 2009. While the 15-year drought does not seem very long, it tied the franchise’s record for the largest gap between pennants.

The Yankees will face either the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Mets in this year’s World Series. Game six of the National League Championship Series — in which the Dodgers lead the Mets 3-2 — will take place Sunday night.

This team was propelled to the Fall Classic by timely hitting from the top of its lineup, particularly designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, and a nearly perfect bullpen aside from a collapse in Game 3 against the Guardians.

The Yankees trailed the Guardians 0-2 until Stanton hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth, tying the game and sending it to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th, Juan Soto sealed the deal for the Yankees, smashing a three-run homer with two outs on the board.

The Guardians couldn’t answer.

After the win, Soto said his team “did a really good job here.”

“We were grinding. We were working hard. Now we are the best team in the American League,” he said.

Soto called the Yankees “the best in the game” and said the chance to bring your team to the World Series is “the best feeling.”

“We have all the talent we need to go all the way,” Soto said, adding that “we’re really sticking together.”

“We’re pushing each other. … We’re feeling really good,” he said. “We have a World Series to win.”

While the Yankees have been absent from the World Series, they have been in the playoffs nearly every season and have reached five championship series (2010, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2022).

The Yankees’ three most recent losses in the championship series were at the hands of the Houston Astros, who have been the most dominant team in the American League for nearly a decade.

General Manager Brian Cashman said “any chance you get a chance to play in the World Series its awesome,” adding: “We’re right where we belong.”

He said he was “was thanking God” when Soto scored in the top of the 10th.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone congratulated the Guardians for putting up a tough fight in the ALCS but said the Yankees were “a little more grittier in the end.”

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge said the team has “something special.”

“That’s what it’s all about. That’s what you grind all season for,” Judge said. “For moments like this.”