Soto and Stanton hit home runs, Yankees beat unbeaten Guardians 5-2 to open series

NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto‘s brilliant swing put the Yankees ahead and also affected Cleveland’s pitchers.

Soto lit up the night with a home run to open the third inning, Giancarlo Stanton disappeared and New York took advantage of the Cleveland Guardians’ lack of pitcher control on Monday en route to a 5-2 victory in the ALCS opener.

“The number one game importance is in the guy who hits forward and hits twice,” Soto said.

Before a full house of 47,264 spectators, including pop star Taylor Swift, the Dominican slugger made himself felt by hitting a sinker from starter Alex Cobb that went very high.

Then Cobb and rookie defenseman Joey Cantillo lost their bearings.

The Guardians became just the second team with a pair of wild pitches that led to touchdowns in the same inning in the postseason. They also tied a postseason record with a total of five wild pitches. His pitchers walked six times in a stretch that faced nine batters and resulted in nine on the night.

“They don’t hit anything out of the box,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of New York’s hitters. “If there’s one lesson we should take into account tonight, it’s that we need to attack the field better.”

Soto led off the third inning with a hit that traveled 387 feet to center field. At 25 years old, the Dominican became the youngest player to hit a home run in the postseason with three teams. He left Manny Machado, who achieved it at the age of 28.

In his first postseason start in 11 years, Cobb singled in the third and Cantillo collected a pair of wild pitches that brought in a run.

Cantillo finished with four wild pitches, falling short of the postseason record set by St. Louis’ Rick Ankiel in the 2020 division series against Atlanta.

Stanton hit the 13th home run of his career in the postseason. The solo homer in the sixth traveled 439 feet in the sixth.

New York hitters have walked 36 in five games this postseason.

“That’s what good teams can be. They don’t depend on one player, it’s about the whole lineup,” Soto said. “We apply pressure, we let the bad pitches go by and we take our walks, loading the bases and causing wild pitches… It’s a collective effort and that’s what it looks like today.”

After passing first base, Soto made a circle motion with his hands, indicating the relievers in the Yankees bullpen.

“It’s a thing between them and me,” Soto said with a smile. “It’s a secret between us.”

Carlos Rodón got his first win of the postseason by pitching six solid innings, overcoming a poor start in the division series against Kansas City. The left-hander allowed a pair of singles from the Guardians before Brayan Rocchio’s home run in the sixth.

Steven Kwan brought the Guardians closer into the eighth by extending his club hitting streak to 11 games with an RBI single off Clay Holmes.

Luke Weaver came on in relief with runners on the corners, going on to hit pinch hitter Will Brennan and retire José Ramírez on a groundout. He had five saves for his fourth save this postseason.

The second game is Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. New York is trying to extend its record of 41 American League titles.

This is the third time in five years that these two teams have met in the playoffs, with the Yankees winning the 2020 wild card round and the 2022 division series.