CLEVELAND (AP) — Undisputed. Unwavering. Emmanuel Clase, who was unbeatable for six months, was nowhere near the same closer in October.

The Guardians couldn't rely on him when it mattered most.

For the second straight year, the New York Yankees made it to the All-Star in the late innings and Cleveland was on the verge of elimination after a stroke 8:6 win on Friday evening in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series.

Clase gave up consecutive homers in the eighth inning of Game 3, but was saved by his teammates as the Guardians hit two two-run homers in their final two at-bats to avoid falling into a 3-0 series deficit.

Coming out of the bullpen to his usual music, Clase allowed three singles – two soft – in the ninth as the Yankees scored twice and broke a 6-6 tie.

There hasn't been a team all season that has had much success against Clase. The Yankees defeated him twice in just over 24 hours.

“Obviously he’s as good as it gets,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “But I think if you have some success against him and you know he throws a lot, like a lot of our guys, a lot of their guys have thrown in the postseason, then I think we probably have a little confidence to do that against one of the greats of the game.”

Clase led the AL with 47 saves and a 0.61 ERA and converted 34 consecutive saves to end the regular season. He gave up just five earned runs.

But Cleveland's career saves leader showed his vulnerability when he allowed a three-run home run to Detroit's Kerry Carpenter in a 3-0 loss in the Division Series. He was further exposed by the Yankees.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Friday afternoon he was unshakable from Game 3 and wasn't afraid to hand the ball to Clase again.

“He is the best closer in the world,” said Vogt. “He hung two sliders this postseason. That's what's true. Everything else is nothing to worry about. He made two bad throws.”

He made a few more bad ones in Game 4.

In six postseason appearances, Clase is 0-2 with a 10.29 ERA. He has two saves, but they both came against the Tigers, who have nothing close to the Yankees' lineup.

Clase avoided reporters on Thursday but stood at his locker on Friday to explain what went wrong.

He's not even sure.

“Yes, I mean a little surprising, of course,” he said through an interpreter. “Of course I keep my confidence high and continue to believe in what I can do. But it’s a little surprising that they’ve been able to achieve the same result so far.”

Clase insists he was not overloaded by Vogt, who felt the 26-year-old was not as sharp.

“I felt like the ball was just flowing back over the middle,” he said. “Believe them. They had a great attack on him in the last two days. That's what the Yankees do really well. You go really well against your pitchers and then throw throws over the middle. They don’t miss it, and they’ve really capitalized on it.”

Clase has led the best bullpen in MLB this season, and if he gets another chance, the Guardians are confident he can come through.

“He knows everyone in this bullpen and in this clubhouse believes in him,” said rookie right-hander Cade Smith, who gave up Giancarlo Stanton’s three-run home run in the sixth. “Two hard nights didn’t shake our faith in him at all.”

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