Luis Severino, Aaron Judge Power Yankees Past Indians in Game 4 of ALDS

The New York Yankees aren't going down without a fight.

The Yankees evened their American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians on Monday with a 7-3 victory in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers—with the help of six unearned runs—continued the pattern of the home team winning each contest this series to force a decisive Game 5 on Wednesday in Cleveland.

In the Yankees' victory over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Wild Card Game on Tuesday, starting pitcher Luis Severino tallied just one out while allowing two home runs and three runs, but he was much more effective in Monday's win-or-go home contest.

While he allowed a two-run homer to Carlos Santana and a solo shot to Roberto Perez, the right-hander limited the damage after he was handed a sizeable lead and gave up just four hits and one walk while striking out nine in seven innings.

He joined impressive company in the process:

Severino's performance, as well as the unearned runs on three of Cleveland's four errors, was enough for Tommy Kahnle to finish the win. Kahnle entered the game after Dellin Betances issued two straight walks to start the eighth, and the midseason acquisition retired Jason Kipnis, Jose Ramirez and Jay Bruce in order.

Severino's counterpart, Trevor Bauer, failed to escape the second inning Monday after he thrived in Game 1 on Thursday, when he tossed 6.2 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out eight. New York forced him from the contest with an RBI double by Todd Frazier, an RBI single by Aaron Hicks and a two-run double by Aaron Judge.

All four runs were unearned after Starlin Castro reached via Giovanny Urshela's error with one out, and Bauer, pitching on short rest, couldn't overcome the adversity.

Zack Meisel of The Athletic pointed out how uncharacteristic the defending American League champions' fielding was:

Urshela's problems were far from over, as his throwing error allowed New York to open a 5-0 advantage in the third. Cleveland reliever Mike Clevinger would have escaped a bases-loaded jam had Urshela delivered an accurate throw to first, but Santana had to jump to catch the ball and Brett Gardner reached the bag before the first baseman came back down.

The fielding woes weren't limited to the third baseman, as relief pitcher Danny Salazar's throwing error on a grounder allowed Frazier to reach second and later score on Gardner's shallow sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Santana homered in the fourth, and Perez cut the Indians' deficit to 5-3 in the fifth, but Gary Sanchez added a solo home run in the sixth, helping the Yankees avoid the middle-innings meltdown they experienced in Game 2.

The ALDS will shift back to Cleveland for Game 5, with the winner advancing to the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.

Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News noted Yankees manager Joe Girardi said CC Sabathia will start Wednesday, while AL Cy Young Award favorite Corey Kluber figures to get the ball for the Indians.

New York tagged Kluber for six earned runs in 2.2 innings in Game 2, while Sabathia allowed four runs (two earned) in 5.1 innings. Cleveland overcame an 8-3 deficit and won that matchup 9-8 in 13 innings.