Yankees Drop Series Finale to Royals in Walk Off Fashion

The Kansas City Royals snapped the four-game winning streak of the Yankees with a walk-off win Thursday afternoon.

It was fun while it lasted for the New York Yankees. The Kansas City Royals snapped the Yanks’ four-game winning streak on Thursday. Still, the Yankees took three out of four from Kansas City, which was more important in the standings. Their record against the AL Central division now stands at 17-2. New York won’t have another series matchup against the AL Central until August.

Rodon Redemption Season Continues

This series opener featured two pitchers that have pitched extremely wells for their respective teams. Going up for New York was LHP Carlos Rodon, who seems to look like a candidate for the Comeback Player of The Year Award. But Rodon didn’t let that last disaster start against Kansas City back in September of last year out of his mind. He pitched shutout ball until the seventh inning, where the Royals would score on a one-out RBI single by C Freddy Fermin. Rodon didn’t allow any more runs, setting himself up for his ninth win of the season.

As for Kansas City, they sent RHP Seth Lugo to mound. He has looked sharp all year long so far, until his most recent start against the Yankees. New York tacked on two runs in the first inning to get to Lugo. The first run came on an RBI single by OF Alex Verdugo, followed by a sacrifice bunt by 3B DJ LeMahieu to bring home 2B Gleyber Torres.

New York would not score their final two runs of the evening until the fourth inning. C Jose Trevino delivered a clutch two-run single bringing two in to score. The Yankees held on the rest of the way.

Aaron Judge Continues His Hot Stretch

So far, nothing has gotten in the way of Aaron Judge. On Tuesday night, he hit his majors-leading 25th home run with a 436-foot, two-run drive into the fountain that lies behind the centerfield seats. Even better, it was another multi-hit performance for himself in the 10-1 victory over Kansas City. But he was not the only guy that went deep in the game. He was joined by teammates DH Giancarlo Stanton and C Austin Wells.

Royals SP Brady Singer was tagged with the loss after allowing six earned runs to score off seven hits while striking out six.

Then there is SP Marcus Stroman. Following his previous start where he allowed a season-high five runs, Stroman shut down the Royals offense. He did find himself in trouble commanding his pitches, which resulted in three walks on the evening. Still, he was able to pitch well enough to earned himself his sixth win of the year. His ERA has now dropped to 2.82 along with a 1.24 WHIP across 79.2 innings pitched. Stroman’s next start is this upcoming Sunday against the rival Boston Red Sox.

Six-Run First Inning Leads Yankees to Series Win

Following Wednesday’s blowout game, the Yankees did not waste time getting to the Kansas City pitching in the first inning. After loading the bases early, Verdugo came up clutch with a two-run single, giving New York an early 2-0 lead. The Yankees weren’t finished yet. The team was able to drive in another run with a sac fly from 1B Anthony Rizzo, followed by a three-run bomb by C Jose Trevino.

New York did continue to score in the middle innings. Giancarlo Stanton would homer again for the second night in a row. The Royals would not score a run until the bottom of the sixth inning. It all started with an RBI double coming from red-hot SS Bobby Witt, Jr., followed by a sac fly by RF Nelson Velasquez, making it 8-2 Yankees.

The Yankees would wrap up their scoring on a three-run bomb by Gleyber Torres, making 11-2. But the Royals weren’t done yet. Witt would drive in the Royals final run of the night on an RBI single.

The starter was RHP Cody Poteet. He has been what the Yankees were asking from him. Ever since RHP Clarke Schmidt went down with an injury, Poteet has done a nice job stepping up for the team. He pitched five-and-one-third innings while just allowing two runs and four hits. It was even good enough to earn himself his third win of the season.

Yankees Drop the Finale

As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Yes, good things have ended early yesterday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals have snapped New York’s four-game winning streak. It was definitely tough to get a win against one of the best teams in baseball, but they finally pulled it off.

It all started with RHP Alec Marsh, who took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning against a stacked Yankees lineup. He would not allow a runner to reach base until OF Juan Soto’s leadoff single.

New York did start a rally against Kansas City’s bullpen. A struggling Rizzo would put the Yankees within one with a solo shot. An error by 2B Garrett Hampson set up SS Anthony Volpe’s RBI groundout. Then Soto would give the team the late lead with an RBI single.

Disaster did not strike for New York until the bottom of the ninth inning. With one out in the inning, RF Drew Waters would hit a grounder that went for an infield hit after both RHP Clay Holmes and Rizzo both miscommunicated on the ball. CF Kyle Isbel would then follow through with a single, eventually setting up the Royals. Finally, Maikel Garcia would walk it off for the Royals with a liner down the left line bringing home OF MJ Melendez and Isbel.