New York Yankees take 2-0 ALCS lead as Aaron Judge hits his first HR of the postseason

By Kevin Dotson, CNN

(CNN) — The New York Yankees continued to look like the American League’s best team with a 6-3 Game 2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians to take a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series (ALCS).

For a team that already looked well-positioned to coast into an MLB-record 41st World Series, the Yankees got another positive sign as regular season home run leader and AL MVP frontrunner Aaron Judge belted his first long ball of the 2024 postseason late in Tuesday’s win.

The Bronx Bombers had to like their chances of moving closer to their 28th MLB crown entering Tuesday night’s contest with big-game pitcher Gerrit Cole in line to start. The Yankees offense gave Cole an early cushion with a run in the first inning and two more in the second to take a quick 3-0 lead.

Cole was effective early, but as his pitch count mounted, Yankees manager Aaron Boone turned to the bullpen when his ace got into trouble in the fifth inning. The 34-year-old right hander exited the game after allowing two runs in just 4.1 innings pitched as the Guardians cut New York’s lead to one.

The Yankees, however, added an insurance run in the sixth and then Judge put the game out of reach with a two-run homer in the seventh inning. The 6-foot-7-inch star hammered a high heater from Guardians reliever Hunter Gaddis 414 feet to straightaway center field, stretching the scoreline to 6-2 and putting the game away despite an extra run by Cleveland in the top of the ninth.

After the game, Judge told reporters he wasn’t initially sure the ball was going to clear the wall on his home run.

“I was excited it went out,” Judge told reporters. “You never know on these windy, chilly nights what that ball’s gonna do when you hit it to center here. But the ghosts were pulling out to Monument Park, that’s for sure.”

The Guardians were also hampered on the night by lackluster defense – two costly Cleveland errors led to a pair of unearned runs for the Yankees on the night – and a raucous Bronx crowd.

Judge gave credit to the Yankees faithful for energizing the team.

“The energy from the fans, yeah, they were loud in the beginning,” Judge said. “Kind of hit a lull there for a little bit, but then anytime we score runs, this place explodes.

“It’s something special, there’s nothing like it in baseball.”

The Guardians will hope to change the momentum and give their fans something to cheer about as the ALCS shifts to Cleveland for Game 3 on Thursday night.

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