Kansas City Royals pushed to brink of elimination with Game 3 loss to NY Yankees
Kansas City Royals fans waited nearly a decade for this moment.
It had been years since the Royals played a postseason game in Kansas City. Iconic images of Salvador Perez holding the World Series trophy were fading with each passing season.
Postseason October baseball returned to Kauffman Stadium at long last on Wednesday evening, but the outcome wasn’t what the Royals — or their fans — had hoped for: The Yankees won 3-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the American League Division Series.
Game 4 of the best-of-five ALDS is Thursday at Kauffman Stadium, with the Royals needing to win to stave off elimination.
“All hands will be on deck,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You have to put everything out there to try to stave off elimination. But we have (Michael) Wacha going, we have a ton of confidence in him, so we’re going to approach it like a regular game, but understand what the gravity of the situation is.”
Facing elimination from ALDS
Despite playing before a sold-out crowd of 40,312 — the Royals’ first sellout since opening day — the Royals fell into a precarious position with Wednesday’s loss.
Thursday’s fourth game of the ALDS is a win-or-go-home scenario. First pitch is set for 7:08 p.m. Central Time (TBS, Max).
Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton propelled New York to victory Wednesday night. He hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie.
“They had a big swing and made plays,” Royals second baseman Michael Massey said. “I felt like we competed and just need to make some more plays than we did today.”
The Royals fought from behind throughout the game. The Yankees scored early with an RBI from Stanton and Juan Soto’s sacrifice fly.
In the fifth inning, the Royals seemed to find some offensive rhythm. Adam Frazier led off with a single and Kyle Isbel drove him home with an RBI double.
KC was down 2-1 at that point, but Massey followed with an RBI triple that got past the glove of a diving Soto.
The Royals had tied the game and The K was rocking. But momentum shifted again with Stanton’s home run, and KC couldn’t pull even again in the ninth.
Yankees reliever Luke Weaver picked up the save, pitching the final five outs.
“They’re competing like crazy,” Quatraro said. “Every one of these games has been a really good ballgame. We’ve walked too many of these guys and they’ve been relatively low scoring games, tight games. Both teams are putting their best foot forward.”
Missed previous games of the series?
Game 1: Royals drop ALDS opener in 6-5 loss to Yankees
Game 2: Salvador Perez, Maikel Garcia fuel Royals 4-2 win over Yankees
Here are more notable aspects of Wednesday’s ALDS Game 3:
Giancarlo Stanton torments Royals
The Yankees slugger had a good night at the office.
Stanton, who entered hitting .125 in the series, was difficult to retire. He finished 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.
In the fourth inning, he hit an RBI double that scored Soto from first base. Later, he hit a go-ahead solo homer over the left-field wall to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead that made for the final score.
“It wasn’t a bad pitch,” Stanton said. “But yeah, just got under the shape, was on time and was able to scoop it out.”
On the decisive homer, Royals reliever Kris Bubic threw an 85.2 mph slider down in the strike zone. Stanton was able to make solid contact and send the baseball 417 feet into the night sky.
“I had already thrown him one previously behind in the count, so he saw it earlier in the sequence,” Bubic said. “But, yeah, just 3-1 to a guy that is swinging the bat well. You know, (I’ve) got to get ahead in the count.”
Walks bite Royals pitchers again
The Royals continue to be haunted by walks after walking nine Yankees in Game 3.
Starter Seth Lugo walked four in five innings. He allowed two earned runs and two hits, striking out two.
“I thought I battled pretty well and felt like I didn’t have my best stuff,” Lugo said. “You know, I had a little trouble with some breaking balls. For the most part, I kept the ball off the barrel and gave the team a chance to win.”
Lugo did work out of a jam that could’ve been worse in the fifth, his final inning. He gave up a single and two walks as the Yankees returned to the top of the order. Lugo was able to retire Soto on a sac fly and Judge on a flyout to center, limiting New York to a single run.
Later, Bubic walked two after serving up Stanton’s home run. The Royals’ bullpen walked a total of five men.
“Sometimes, when you do fall behind in the count, you don’t want to screw one into hitters that are capable of leaving the ballpark,” Bubic said. “But at the same time, there is no excuse for walking guys, putting guys on and free passes. If they are going to put the ball in play or if they are going to hit the ball over the fence, you want to make them earn it.”
What’s next on the KC Royals’ schedule:
Game 4 of the ALDS is Thursday night at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals will start right-hander Michael Wacha. He started Game 1, allowing three earned runs in four innings.
The Yankees will start right-handed ace Gerrit Cole. He allowed four runs (three earned) in Game 1 last Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 9:26 PM.
