Aaron Judge plundered a 47th home run of the season as the New York Yankees bounced back to form with a 4-2 Subway Series win over the New York Mets.
The Yankees had gone 6-14 in August prior to Monday's derby and the pressure seemed to be on.
Manager Aaron Boone had received the backing of GM Brian Cashman ahead of the first game of the series, but the Yankees needed a big performance after a run of 14 losses in 18 games.
Up stepped Judge, whose dispatching of a Max Scherzer fastball ended a nine-game homerless streak and set the Yankees on their way to a second successive win on the back of three straight defeats to the Toronto Blue Jays. The turnaround began with a 4-2 win in the fourth game against Toronto.
Judge is closing in on Roger Maris' single-season American League record of 61 home runs, set in 1961, though he claimed to be unaware of that prospect.
"It's news to me," said Judge, who has nine homers in 20 games against the Mets and is 13 clear of next-best Kyle Schwarber across all MLB players when it comes to round trips this season. "I really don't worry about that. I was just happy to barrel something up and add to the lead that we already had against one of the best pitchers in the game.
"We've got a special group of individuals that are mentally tough enough to bounce back. It's a long season and we haven't been playing the type of ball we want to. It's time to get back to what we do."
Subway Series debutant Andrew Benintendi picked up the mantle in the later innings, and said: "To string together a couple of wins in a row against two really good pitchers, your confidence can really go up."
Daniel Vogelbach went deep for the Mets, smashing a huge two-run homer beyond the fence and into the crowd, while the Yankees' Jonathan Loaisiga pitched brilliantly alongside Ron Marinaccio.
Philadelphia hit back
The Mets went into the clash in the Bronx after three wins out of four against the Philadelphia Phillies, who responded to that disappointing run by comfortably dispatching the Cincinnati Bengals 4-1.
Noah Syndergaard (8-8) allowed one run on three hits with one strikeout and two walks, as the pitcher continued his fine start to life with the Phillies following his move from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline, while Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott both homered.
"Noah threw the ball well like he's been doing for us, and we hit the ball," Stott said, while Syndergaard added: "My time here so far has been amazing. I feel like I'm on cloud nine."
Dodgers blanked at home
The Los Angeles Dodgers do not tend to draw blanks at home. Indeed, they were on a nine-game winning streak at Dodger Stadium, yet that run came to a shuddering halt at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers, who cruised to a 4-0 triumph.
The Dodgers, who had won five of their last seven, including two successes against the Brewers last week, were blanked for a sixth time this season, but it is the first time they have failed to score on home turf in 2022.
Eric Lauer was on top form for the Brewers, claiming two strikeouts and two walk-outs, while Willy Adames, Christian Yelich, Luis Urias and Keston Hiura got the runs, with Milwaukee now 34-32 on the road for the season.
MLB: Guardians beat Skubal, Tigers to advance to ALCS
Lane Thomas hit a grand slam off Tarik Skubal and Cleveland beat the Detroit Tigers 7-3 on Saturday in Game 5 of their AL Division Series, moving the Guardians into another postseason matchup against the Yankees.
Cleveland will meet New York in the AL Championship Series, setting up another playoff matchup between two teams that have crossed paths six previous times in October. They last met in 2022, with the Yankees taking their ALDS in five games.
Game 1 is Monday in the Bronx.
Thomas had five RBIs for the Guardians, who weren't expected to contend this season. But they won the tough AL Central under first-year manager Stephen Vogt, and Cleveland is still alive with a chance to end a World Series title drought stretching to 1948.
The Guardians had to take down Skubal, the front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award, to keep it going. The left-hander had not given up a run in 24 consecutive innings - 17 in this postseason - before the Guardians tagged him in the fifth for five runs, tying the most he allowed in 2024.
Cleveland had three singles in the inning – one on an infield roller – to load the bases before Skubal hit Ramírez on the left hand to force in a run.
That brought up Thomas, who hit a three-run homer in Cleveland's 7-0 win in Game 1.
The center fielder connected on Skubal's first pitch, sending it just over the 19-foot-high wall in left-center field.
When the ball touched down, the Guardians' dugout emptied and the screaming, red-clad Progressive Field crowd erupted in celebration.
As has been the case all season, Vogt leaned on his MLB-best bullpen, which showed some wear and tear.
After Thomas hit his homer, the Tigers threatened in the sixth, scoring a run on a single by Jake Rogers and loading the bases with two outs. But Hunter Gaddis struck out Kerry Carpenter, who won Game 2 with a three-run homer in the ninth.
The Tigers, though, kept clawing and closed to 5-3 on Colt Keith's one-out RBI double in the seventh. Eli Morgan came in for Cleveland and struck out both batters he faced.
Thomas hit an RBI single in the eighth to put the Guardians up by three, and that's when Vogt turned to All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase, the AL's saves leader, to put the Tigers away.
Throwing one 100 mph fastball after another, Clase got the final six outs. When he retired Keith on a routine grounder to first, the Guardians could finally exhale and plan for their first ALCS visit since 2016.
'He's a modern-day Babe Ruth' - Piazza heaps praise on record-breaking Ohtani
Former Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza believes Shohei Ohtani is a "modern-day Babe Ruth" after his record-breaking season in MLB.
Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to exceed 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season last month.
So far, he has 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases and hit a three-run homer in his postseason debut when the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres last weekend.
This season, he also surpassed Hideki Matsui's record of 175 for the most home runs by a Japanese player in MLB history (now 225).
And Piazza, who played for the Dodgers between 1992 and 1998, believes Ohtani has already cemented himself among the greats of the game.
"So, he's probably a once-in-a-lifetime player that you're going to see," Piazza told Stats Perform. "I mean, you see players throughout history, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, guys that have done exceptional things, and I think he's no different.
"I mean, the fact that you have the size, the combination of power and speed and he can pitch. I mean he's kind of like a modern-day Babe Ruth.
"Babe Ruth was a great pitcher that a lot of people don't remember him as a pitcher and then ended up hitting over 700 home runs. So, he kind of redefined the sport. I think what Otani is doing now, and I think it also shows the impact and now the effect of Japanese players in the major leagues.
"I was fortunate to play with the first modern ball player, Hideo Nomo, who played for the Dodgers in '95. And ever since then, he was kind of the first pioneer. And now you're seeing Japanese players that want to prove their value in the major leagues. Before, it wasn't so prevalent.
"I mean, up until '95, there was only one in the '60s. So, I think that's another thing that he's done. He's encouraged a lot of attention for Major League Baseball in Japan, and so I mean he's a very special, special talent."
Ohtani's performance against the Miami Marlins on September 19 has been called "one of the greatest" single-game performances in history after he became the first 50-50 player and became the 16th player in MLB history to reach 10 or more RBI in a single game.
He also broke the Dodgers record for RBI in a single game and the most home runs in a single season for the franchise.
Asked if he thought Ohtani was the best baseball player he had ever seen, Piazza added: "He still has some time, I think, to put together a career. I mean he's only been here, what, maybe five years now?
"I think the one thing about baseball is that the true test of greatness would be over, like at least a decade. I'm curious to see if he starts to pitch again, if he starts to pitch and he is effective on the mound, and if he continues his forward hitting, his very hot hitting, and the speed too.
"Because when you play that type of game, when you're stealing, and you're running a lot, it is stressful on the body. So, I think the durability thing will start to come in over the course of the next four or five years for him.
"But he can do it. I mean he's physically strong, the size and the speed, so I'm not ready to say he's the greatest player ever. But he's on a great path and I think the only limits that he has will be if he can stay healthy."
Ohtani represents Japan internationally and could be set for an appearance at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 as baseball is reintroduced to the slate.
Piazza, who is currently the manager of the Italian national baseball team, thinks Ohtani has the ability to revitalise baseball players as global stars, especially if he does appear at the Games.
"I think baseball has been limited in their markets because, obviously, the United States, Latin America and the East, the Far East, Japan and Chinese Taipei, Taiwan, and Korea. But I think you're right [that he could revitalise interest]," Piazza said.
"I mean, the fact that he's doing some very special things in this new media age, because players can get more exposure than when I played.
"I mean, I only played in the 90s. And there wasn't a lot of people in Europe that knew, obviously, of what I was doing, obviously, in Japan because I was playing with Hideo Nomo. But that's probably the only reason.
"So yes, I think we're in a new age of multimedia and social media. I think he definitely has a chance to become a world star, which is rare for baseball, because baseball has always been, as I said, limited to those markets not so big in Europe and in Asia and, as I said, Latin America, so we'll see. I think he, if anybody, could do it he can."
MLB: Yamamoto, Dodgers 2-hit Padres to advance to NLCS
Yoshinobu Yamamoto and four relievers combined on a two-hitter and Kike Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez homered as the Los Angeles Dodgers secured a trip to the National League Championship Series with a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
Yamamoto allowed two hits over five innings for the Dodgers before being pulled after 63 pitches in a decisive Game 5 between heated rivals who were meeting in an NL Division Series for the third time in five years.
Evan Phillips struck out three in 1 2/3 innings and Alex Vesia got one out before leaving with an injury to start the eighth. Michael Kopech worked one perfect inning and Blake Treinen pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save.
The Dodgers will play the New York Mets in the best-of-seven NLCS starting Sunday night in Los Angeles.
Yu Darvish allowed the two home runs and one other hit over six innings with one walk and four strikeouts.
The Dodgers won a decisive Game 5 at home for the first time since taking a 1981 NL Division Series against Houston after a season split into halves following a players' strike. Boasting the majors’ best regular-season record of 98-64, they successfully avoided a third straight NLDS elimination.
The Padres’ big hitters went bust with their season on the line. Three-time batting champion Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado were 1 for 14 in Game 5 as the last 19 San Diego batters were retired.
San Diego went scoreless for the final 24 innings of the series, dropping the last two games after taking a 2-1 lead back home.
Yamamoto and Darvish were the first Japanese-born starting pitchers to square off in major league playoff history. The 26-year-old Yamamoto was the fifth rookie to start a winner-take-all game in Dodgers history.
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