CLEVELAND — Juan Soto was supposed to the difference maker, the one who pushed the New York Yankees back to the top of Major League Baseball.
They’re one step away.
Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the top of the 10th inning, and the top-seeded Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — but first in 15 years — by beating the second-seeded Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night at Progressive Field.
Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.
Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from the San Diego Padres in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing. This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.