The Cleveland Guardians made the home-field advantage count after a thrilling come-from-behind win against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field on Thursday.
Guardians All-Star David Fry sent the home fans into a frenzy after his two-run homer against Yankees reliever Clay Holmes in the 10th inning to seal a dramatic 7-5 walk-off win.
The win kept the Guardians on track for a World Series bout, slashing the Yankees' hopes of three consecutive wins in the championship series.
The Guardians led the game for the most part, leading 3-1 heading into the eighth inning. However, home runs from Yankees captain Aaron Judge followed by Giancarlo Stanton's solo shot gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead.
The Yankees added another run in the top of the ninth to make it a two-run game. However, the Guardians made the home advantage count, tying the game in the bottom ninth before David Fry walked it off in the 10th to register their first win in the series.
Guardians beat Yankees after dramatic bullpen showdown
Although it was a back-and-forth game from the start, the hosts seemingly had the upper hand with trusted reliever Emmanuel Clase on the mound in the eighth inning, banking on a 3-1 lead.
However, Judge and Stanton went back-to-back against the one-time AL Reliever of the Year to turn the game in the Yankees' favor. The Bronx Bombers seemingly had the upper hand with the impressive Luke Weaver on the mound to close out the game in the ninth.
But like Clase, Weaver crumbled under pressure to concede a game-tying home run from Jhonkensy Noel. The two-run homer from Noel sent the game into extra inning as Yankees manager Aaron Boone called upon veteran reliever Clay Holmes.
Holmes, who faced criticism from fans for his much-maligned blown saves record during the regular season, failed to contain the Guardians.
The dramatic win added an entertaining twist in the ALCS which was turning into a one-sided contest after consecutive wins for the Yankees in the first two games. The Guardians will be out to tie the series when they go up against New York again in Game 4 on Friday.