For the fourth time this series, and the time this postseason, Giancarlo Stanton delivered a blast when the Yankees needed it most.
He drilled a 3-2 pitch — with two outs in the sixth — over the left-center field fence at Progressive Field for a two-run homer that tied Game 5 and ignited a Yankees offense that, for most of the game, couldn’t manage much against Tanner Bibee.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt opted to pitch to Stanton despite having two bases open.
Gleyber Torres, who led off the inning with a single, had moved to third when Aaron Judge grounded into a double play.
And a struggling Jazz Chisholm Jr. waited on deck.
Instead, Vogt stuck with his ace, and Stanton — via a ball with a 117.5 mph exit velocity and a bat he emphatically slammed into the ground once he finished the swing and saw where it was heading — lifted the Yankees back into a Game 5 that could clinch their first World Series berth since 2009.