Fastball

NBA MVP Had Priceless Reaction on "X" to Game Tying HR in Guardians-Yankees Game

Jhonkensy Noel impressed everyone on Thursday night!

Brady Farkas

United States centre Joel Embiid (11) celebrates with the gold medal after the game against France in the men's basketball gold medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena on Aug 10.
United States centre Joel Embiid (11) celebrates with the gold medal after the game against France in the men's basketball gold medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena on Aug 10. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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The Cleveland Guardians beat the New York Yankees 7-5 on Thursday night in one of the most incredible games in recent memory.

The Guardians blew a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning, only to tie the game at 5-5 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Then, they won the game on a walkoff home run from David Fry in bottom of the tenth inning.

As a result, the Guardians now trail the Yankees 2-1 in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series. A 3-0 deficit would have all but ended the Guardians season, but now they are very much alive.

While the Fry home run was certainly electric, the Jhonkensy Noel home run in the bottom of the ninth inning is the one that everyone is still talking about.

The blast off of Luke Weaver electrified social media, with Noel's bat toss also garnering significant attention.

The whole sequence caught the attention of Philadelphia 76ers star and NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who put out this post on "X:"

What a HR #BigChristmas

The "Big Christmas" reference is a nod to Noel's nickname.

Though Embiid was born in Cameroon and has family in France, he's apparently taken to baseball: We've also seen him at Phillies games before.

The 30-year-old is a seven-time NBA All-Star, an MVP and a five-time All-NBA selection. He also just helped Team USA win the Gold Medal at the Paris Olympics. The 76ers open up the NBA season on Oct. 23 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

As for the Guardians and Yankees, they play Game 4 of the ALCS on Friday night.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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