By Tyler Kepner, Chris Kirschner, Brendan Kuty and Zack Meisel

CLEVELAND — It was a moment 15 years in the making, a game-changing drive that cut through the October sky, rose high and far and landed in the World Series. The Yankees acquired Juan Soto last winter to bring them back to the stage that once belonged to them. On Saturday in Cleveland, he made that dream come true.

When it was all over and Soto grounded out to right field with the last out, he pinch-hit and romped gleefully to beat Luke Weaver on the infield grass. The Yankees are American League champions for the first time since 2009 and eliminated the Guardians in five games with a 5-2 win in 10 innings. Soto's three-run home run off Hunter Gaddis made the difference.

Soto had two ons and two outs to start the 10th, fouling four pitches, before Gaddis finally fired a fastball in the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Soto launched it 402 feet, just right of center, then paused in his trot between home and first and bowed and hollered in front of the Yankees' dugout.

Soto probably shouldn't have scored at all. With one out and a runner on first, Alex Verdugo rolled a grounder to second baseman Andres Gimenez, who flipped to shortstop Bryan Rocchio for a forceout. But the ball bounced off Rocchio's glove, and instead of ending the inning with a hit to the next batter, Gaddis had to face Soto.

Soto's home run was the Yankees' second of Game 5, following a two-run pitch by series MVP Giancarlo Stanton off Tanner Bibee that tied the game in the sixth inning.

Bibee gave the Guardians their best start of the postseason with a shutout over 5 2/3 innings. But with one on and two out in the sixth, Stanton unloaded with a 3-2 slider – the only pitch in the strike zone during the at-bat – and sent it 446 feet into the left field seats.

It was Stanton's fourth hit of the Series, all home runs, and it made the game another bullpen clash, with Bibee leaving the game and the Yankees already in their bullpen after 4 2/3 innings by Carlos Rodon.

After shaky relief work in the last two games, both teams showed poor performances on Saturday, including from their final players. Cleveland's Emmanuel Clase, who blew the save in Game 3 and lost Game 4, retired Aaron Judge and Stanton as part of a scoreless ninth, while the Yankees' Weaver tamed the Guardians' bottom in his half of the inning.

Weaver – who gave up Jhonkensy Noel's two-out home run that tied Game 3 in the bottom of the ninth but was out for Game 4 – came back for the 10th and moved to the top of the order, working around a single and put Lane Thomas on the fly to Soto to get the pennant.

May we reintroduce Juan Soto, The Generational. pic.twitter.com/6R5fWpEg6I

– New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 20, 2024

“We've had our ups, we've had our downs,” general partner Hal Steinbrenner said on the TBS broadcast after holding up the AL championship trophy on the field. “But we never had our doubts.”

Redemption for Emmanuel Clase

October was a relentless nightmare for Cleveland's closer, but his manager continues to express confidence in the man who posted a 0.61 ERA in the regular season. And it's not just lip service; Stephen Vogt repeatedly sends Clase to the mound in critical situations. On Saturday, Clase rewarded Vogt with a goalless ninth place.

The Yankees defeated Clase the last two nights, but he bounced back in Game 5 against the same opponents that had humiliated him earlier in the series. Judge and Stanton hit home runs against Clase in the eighth inning on Thursday – before a wild Cleveland comeback turned his blown save into a footnote – and Clase jogged to the mound to face them again on Saturday. He got Judge to fly into right field with a 100.4 mph cutter and struck out Stanton with a 100.6 mph cutter at the top of the zone in a classic power-versus-power battle. After Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a single to right, Clase induced a harmless grounder from Oswaldo Cabrera to end the inning and preserve the tie.

Stanton's productive show of force continues

For the third straight season, Stanton played hero for the Yankees, this time hitting a two-run pitch in the sixth inning to tie the score at 2-2.

It scored Torres, who had started the inning with a single. It came after Soto's single and Judge's easy 6-4-3 double play that moved Torres to third base.

Stanton ripped a full-count slider — the only pitch Bibee left over the plate the entire at-bat. It flew 446 feet and traveled 117.5 miles per hour – an absolute bomb over the wall in left center field.

GIANCARLO STANTON AGAIN! Draw game! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/tX2VqXuqVL

– MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2024

It was Stanton's third home run in three nights and his fourth of the postseason. The blast moved him ahead of Judge and Babe Ruth on the Yankees' postseason home run list. Stanton's 16 playoff home runs in pinstripes ranks him fourth all-time, behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).

“First of all, he can hit harder than anyone,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “So it's the physical nature of what he does that makes him different from that of almost everyone in the world. But he’s just incredibly disciplined, his approach, his process (and) how he studies guys.”

His home run on Friday gave the Yankees a four-run lead and an 8-6 victory. On Thursday, he singled Judge against Clase, giving the Yankees a one-run lead in the eighth inning that eventually fell, 7-5.

Bibee delivers a short break, but there's one pitch he'd like to have back

With a short break and tasked with protecting a beleaguered bullpen, Bibee delivered the longest outing by a Cleveland starter this month. But it was his final pitch that gave the Yankees life. He talked Stanton into waving a few throws outside the zone to start the contest, but Stanton counted all the way and then Bibee left a 3-2 slider over the middle of the plate, where Stanton can turn any offer into a dent Souvenir. Catcher Bo Naylor had lined up well outside the plate. It ended up being the only pitch that passed through the strike zone during the at-bat. Bibee threw three sliders, two changeups and a curveball to Stanton.

Other than that flaw, Bibee delivered exactly what the Guardians needed. He hit the strike zone, which kept his throw count low, a tough challenge against a patient, veteran-filled lineup that led the league in yards. He needed just 61 pitches to get through five scoreless innings before two singles in the top of the sixth inning paved the way for Stanton's breakthrough. Bibee only threw 39 shots in Game 2, so the decision to bring him back a day earlier than usual wasn't particularly difficult for manager Stephen Vogt. Bibee said it was his first start with a short break since college, starting for Cal State Fullerton on Friday nights and then returning to the mound on Sundays in a backup role.

A costly base-running error hurts the Yankees early

The Yankees might have ended this game in the first inning if third base coach Luis Rojas hadn't sent Torres home with a double that hit Soto into the gap in right-center field. The Guardians executed a perfect transition from right fielder Noel to second baseman Andrés Giménez, who fired the ball home for the out.

The Yankees could have had runners on second and third, with no outs and the core of their order. Instead, they had one ejection and Soto had the second. Then Judge was hit by a pitch in the chest, Stanton struck out, Chisholm was hit in the foot by a pitch and Anthony Rizzo singled to end the inning.

A perfect game at the plate 🤩 #ALCS pic.twitter.com/RsLG5LDB75

– MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2024

From there, Bibee settled in, retiring ten Yankees in a row. It wasn't until Anthony Volpe's single in the fifth inning that the Yankees had another base runner, which was quickly erased after Austin Wells grounded in a double play.

The Yankees recorded the sixth-most outs in MLB at home during the regular season, and no player recorded more outs at home than Torres. This out wasn't against the second baseman, but it came at a big spot that could have buried the Guardians immediately.

(Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images)