NEW YORK -- Luke Weaver has proven to be nearly as entertaining in front of a microphone as he is on the mound. The de facto Yankees closer delivered another doozy in the alcohol-soaked celebration that followed Thursday¡¯s Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Kauffman Stadium, proclaiming himself to be ¡°a ferocious jungle cat.¡±

¡°You just feed into the energy,¡± Weaver said on the YES Network. ¡°I think you tell yourself you¡¯ve got to be relentless, you¡¯ve got to be convicted. I don¡¯t want to mess around and sleep at night and be like, ¡®I didn¡¯t give my all. I was scared or timid.¡¯ Just go right after them and keep at it.¡±

Weaver was the last man (sorry, jungle cat?) on the mound in the Yankees¡¯ 3-1 victory over the Royals, inducing a flyout to center fielder Aaron Judge that punched his club¡¯s ticket into the American League Championship Series against either the Guardians or the Tigers. That best-of-seven series is set to begin on Monday evening at Yankee Stadium.

It was Weaver¡¯s third save in as many opportunities during the ALDS, continuing the strong work that the journeyman right-hander has put forth since being plugged into the ninth inning in early September.

¡°I feel like I¡¯m living in a movie,¡± Weaver said. ¡°I want to make sure the ending is pretty good. I want to make sure that I¡¯m able to rewatch it.¡±

The outing also put the finishing touches on a stellar ALDS for the Bombers' bullpen, which did not permit an earned run over 15 2/3 innings. It was the third-most innings covered by a bullpen without an earned run in a postseason series, behind 18 1/3 by the Twins against the Blue Jays in the 1991 ALCS and 17 by the Dodgers against the Cubs in the 2017 NLCS.

Including Clay Holmes, dislodged from the closer¡¯s role after 13 blown saves in the regular season only to fire five scoreless innings over four appearances, Yankees relievers held the Royals to a .143 batting average (8-for-56) with four walks and 15 strikeouts.

If Major League Baseball issued MVP Awards for the Division Series, Giancarlo Stanton likely would be clutching hardware after batting .375 (6-for-16) with two doubles, a deciding Game 3 homer and four RBIs. But the relievers were just as big of a reason that the Yankees savored a happy flight home on Friday morning.

¡°Rock solid,¡± said ace right-hander Gerrit Cole. ¡°Those guys have faced some ups and downs this year, and they persevered. It¡¯s made them better. They want the ball. We want them with the ball.¡±

Here is a game-by-game review of how manager Aaron Boone seemingly pushed all of the right bullpen buttons in this series:

ALDS Game 1 (Yankees 6, Royals 5): The only run that Kansas City scored against the bullpen came in the sixth inning, as Tim Hill relieved Gerrit Cole after a leadoff single. Shortstop Anthony Volpe committed a throwing error on a Tommy Pham grounder that put runners at the corners, followed by Garrett Hampson¡¯s pinch-hit single that scored two runs and gave the Royals a 5-4 lead.

In a contest that had five lead changes -- briefly a postseason record before the Mets and Phillies one-upped it the next day in Game 3 of the National League Division Series -- Holmes (1 2/3 IP), Tommy Kahnle (2/3 IP) and Weaver (1 1/3 IP) ensured the Royals could not pad their advantage.

ALDS Game 2 (Royals 4, Yankees 2): Carlos Rod¨®n was unable to get through the fourth inning in the Yanks¡¯ only loss of the series, but the bullpen hurled 5 1/3 innings of scoreless, three-hit relief behind the lefty, striking out eight with two walks.

With an off-day to follow as the series shifted to Missouri, Boone felt he could use everyone: Ian Hamilton (1 1/3 IP), Jake Cousins (1/3 IP), Hill (2/3 IP), Holmes (one IP), Kahnle (one IP), Tim Mayza (2/3 IP) and Weaver (1/3 IP) all pitched.

ALDS Game 3 (Yankees 3, Royals 2): When Clarke Schmidt got an early hook after 4 2/3 innings, Boone turned to his three highest-leverage relievers to lock down the Royals. Holmes (1 1/3 IP), Kahnle (1 1/3 IP) and Weaver (1 2/3 IP) combined to limit Kansas City to two hits, walking one and striking out one.

¡°I had complete confidence in them,¡± Schmidt said. ¡°I think that¡¯s been one of our strengths, if not our main strength, the whole year.¡±

ALDS Game 4 (Yankees 3, Royals 1): Cole delivered the performance he¡¯d intended to supply in the series opener, harnessing his crackling fastball for seven sharp innings. With a trip to the next round on the line, Holmes (one IP) and Weaver (one IP) split the final six outs, securing the Yanks¡¯ second ALCS appearance in three years and their third during Boone¡¯s managerial tenure (2019, ¡¯22, ¡¯24).

¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s so important getting a lead,¡± Judge said. ¡°You get a lead, get our starter feeling comfortable and then hand it off to that bullpen. They¡¯re so electric. We¡¯ve got so many different guys that can match up well against different types of hitters. So hats off to them. It¡¯s about getting the lead and throwing it to those guys.¡±