CLEVELAND – Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase gave up two runs in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees moved closer to another World Series by beating Cleveland 8-6 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead at the American League Championship Series.

Gleyber Torres hit an RBI single and New York scored the go-ahead run on an error by shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who set up Alex Verdugo’s grounder.

It was a messy ninth place finish for Clase (0-2), as baseball’s best player of the entire season faltered for the second night in a row.

New York had three hits in the ninth off the right-hander, who gave up back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning of Game 3, but was shut out when the Guardians got a pair of two-run home runs in their last two at-bats.

“Just get it done,” Giancarlo Stanton said after the game. “He is so strong when it comes to scoring runs. Putting it in the game is the most important thing.”

Stanton hit a three-run homer and Juan Soto added a two-run shot for the Yankees, who can advance to their 41st World Series on Saturday if they win in Game 5.

For Stanton, it was his seventh career postseason hit against the Guardians, all home runs. He has three in this series, which ranks second in a single ALCS in Yankees franchise history (Robinson Cano had four in the 2010 ALCS).

“I want a ring,” Stanton said of his postseason success. “Anything I can do to help us win, and this was a big step. But there’s a lot more work to do.”

The Guardians are eliminated from the postseason for the second time. They rallied in the AL Division Series to get past Detroit and will now need to win three straight (two at Yankee Stadium) to have any chance of ending their 76-year drought in the World Series.

For the second night in a row, New York’s bullpen nearly grabbed a late lead. The Guardians scored three runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and threatened in the ninth, putting two runners on base.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone went to Tommy Kahnle, not Luke Weaver, for the final three outs, and the right-hander was able to put away Cleveland, something New York’s relievers couldn’t do Thursday.

Stanton’s 400-foot drive in the sixth inning off Cade Smith put the Yankees ahead 6-2.

Cleveland scored three runs in the seventh and rookie Jhonkensy Noel, who hit a pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning in Game 3, sent a shiver through Progressive Field by flying to the warning track.

Cleveland tied the score in the eighth when the Yankees, who have hurt themselves in the field and on the bases, botched an easy play in the infield.

Bo Naylor doubled and advanced on an infield grounder. Mark Leiter Jr., added to the Yankees’ ALCS roster earlier in the day as an injury replacement, brought in Steven Kwan. Leiter appeared to get out of the inning when David Fry, one of Cleveland’s Game 3 home run stars, hit a slow grounder to right field.

Leiter rushed the ball onto the grass and scooped it with his bare hands as he approached the foul line toward first, but the ball went through the legs of first baseman Anthony Rizzo, allowing Naylor to score the tying run.

Stanton, who hit back-to-back home runs with Aaron Judge in the eighth inning on Thursday, gave the Yankees a four-run lead with his 15th career postseason home run.

Smith walked Solo entering the sixth and Judge singled before Stanton drove a 1-2 fastball from Smith into the stands, where a sizable contingent of Yankees fans waited for the ball to land.

Stanton tied Carlos Beltrán and Nelson Cruz for the most home runs through the first 35 career playoff games. Stanton also tied Judge and Babe Ruth for fourth-most in club history.

This report uses information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press.