YANKEES MOVE TO ALCS AFTER TOPPING TWINS

YANKEES 5 - TWINS 1 
NYY Sweep Series 3-0 

Enjoy the champagne Yankees fans, you deserve it.

The New York Yankees are on their way to the American League Championship Series for the second time in three years after doing away with the Minnesota Twins 5-1 in Game 3 of the Division Series.

After relying on their bats the first two games of the series, the Yankees used superb defense to put down the Twins in a dominating three-game sweep.

It didn't take long for New York to jump out in front, thanks to a solo home run by Gleyber Torres in the top of the second to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

From there, fans had to sit on the edge of their seats as the Yankees flirted with danger all night.

In the bottom of the second, the Twins loaded the bases against Luis Severino, but the former ace came back to jam slugger Miguel Sano on a pop up to first in an epic eight-pitch at bat for the first out. Next, Severino gave Marwin Gonzalez a heavy dose of sliders to fan him for out number two.

Finally, Severino came back with a back-door slider to catch Jake Cave looking at strike three to get out of the jam.

Severino went four innings for the Yankees, Monday, allowing only four hits and two walks, while striking out four. He got a no decision.

From the fifth inning on, manager Aaron Boone went right to his bullpen, which has carried this pitching staff all season long.

Things got a little dicy for the Yankees in the bottom of the fifth when Boone had to use three pitchers to try to get out of the inning. He opened the fifth with Tommy Khanle who gave up a single to Jake Cave, before retiring both Max Kelper and Jorge Polonco.

With two out in the fifth, Adam Ottavino came in to face Nelson Cruz, but lost the slugger to a walk, forcing Boone to go back to the pen with Chad Green to face the lefty Eddie Rosario. Rosario actually got good wood on the ball, slapping it into shallow right, but second baseman DJ LaMahieu played the shift perfectly, and threw out Rosario a step off the bag to get out of the jam.

An inning later, Green worked in and out of trouble again. First he gave up a one-out double to Luis Arrez, before retiring Sano on a liner to right for the second out, and jamming Gonzalez on a long fly ball to deep right that Aaron Judge made a spectacular play on for the final out.

All of this drama protected a seemingly frail 2-0 Yankees lead.

The Yanks would tack on to that lead in the late stages. Didi Gregorius' RBI single in the top of the seventh scored Torres to make it 3-0. Fast forward to the ninth, Cameron Maybin cracked a solo home run around the foul pole in left to make it 4-1. Gregorius followed with his second RBI of the night later in the inning to all but put the game away at 5-1.

Finally in the bottom of the ninth, Aroldis Chapman worked out of some early trouble to retire the meat of the Twins order, including striking out Nelson Cruz looking at an inside fastball for strike three.

With the victory the Yankees continued their dominance of the Twins in the postseason, winning 13 consecutive games against them in October. The Yankees now await the winner of the Houston Astros-Tampa Bay Rays series. The Astros lead that series 2-1. Houston could finish the series on Tuesday.