David Fry became one of the most celebrated athletes in Cleveland baseball history on Thursday night. He slammed a game-winning, two-run homer off Clay Holmes as the Cleveland Guardians beat the New York Yankees 7-5 in 10 innings. The win, in front of a packed house at Progressive Field in Cleveland, now makes the American League Championship Series at a 2-1 edge for New York.
But Fry delivered in a sure-fire clutch situation as the Guardians and Yankees played long ball. Aaron Judge’s two-run homer and Giancarlo Stanton’s solo shot came in the eighth inning, giving New York a 4-3 lead at the time. Things looked pretty good for Yankees manager Aaron Boone and his team.
Cleveland Guardians Put Offense Together
Well, that was until Cleveland’s hitters started making solid contact.
Speaking of solid contact, pinch-hitter Jhonkensy Noel—a rookie, no less, for the Cleveland Guardians—clobbered a Luke Weaver pitch for a game-tying, two-run home run. Noel did his damage with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Yes, “Noel” season came early to baseball fans in Cleveland. His nickname is “Big Christmas” and, well, Noel spread some good cheer.
His game-saving, and even series-saving, blast way over the left-field wall at Progressive Field seemed to never want to land. Lane Thomas doubled off Weaver in the ninth, getting on base and setting the stage for Noel.
DAVID FRY! BALLGAME! #WALKOFF pic.twitter.com/XzBsU8LKrR
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2024
Then, in the 10th inning, Bo Naylor’s single led off the Guardians’ half. Brayan Rocchio sacrificed Naylor to second and he moved to third base on a comebacker to Holmes, The Associated Press reported. Fry connected on a Holmes sinker, sending it over the left-center-field wall. Cleveland’s fans rocked and rolled their way together while Fry ran around the bases.
“When everybody thinks that we can’t do it, we think we can,” Fry said, MLB.com‘s Mandy Bell reported. “[Manzardo] has a huge homer early. I still don’t know how Jhonkensy hit a homer off that guy. That was such a cool at-bat. What a win.”
With the Thursday night victory, the Cleveland Guardians are in a position to tie up the ALCS with the New York Yankees.
New York Yankees’ Big Hitters Deliver
October baseball never looked prettier than under starry skies in Cleveland. Guardians fans were just as excited for Noel’s blast, too. There were lots of reasons to celebrate.
Yet the Yankees’ big hitters, Judge and Stanton, slammed their home runs off Cleveland star reliever Emmanuel Clase. Yes, the Bronx Bombers made Clase look like a middle reliever working in the dog days of summer.
ALLLLLLLLLL RISE!
AARON JUDGE GAME-TYING HOME RUN 🤯 pic.twitter.com/P2tQxBItoi
— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2024
But the Cleveland Guardians are not going down without a fight. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt is making magic at the right times.
The victory tightened up the ALCS when it looked like the New York Yankees might be able to nab a road win.
As a legendary broadcast voice might say, business is about to pick up on Friday night in Cleveland.
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