Washington: Gary Sanchez smashed two home runs and Aaron Judge blasted another to power the New York Yankees over arch-rival Boston 6-2 on Saturday in the Major League Baseball play-offs.

The Yankees pulled level at 1-1 in the best-of-five American League playoff series with game three set for Monday in New York.

Either the Red Sox or Yankees will face defending champion Houston or the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series, with the Astros moving to the brink of advancing Saturday with a 3-1 home victory over Cleveland.

The Yankees smacked the most homers of any club in major league history this season with 267 and have sustained their superb slugging into the play-offs.