Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. homered, but too many things went awry vs. Yankees in NY
.jpg "Yankees sluggers Trent Grisham (from left), Ben Rice and Austin Wells all homered off Kansas City Royals pitcher Seth Lugo during the fifth inning of a Monday, April 14, 2025 Major League Baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York. Jazz Chisholm (not pictured) homered off Lugo in the fourth. All four home runs were solo shots.")
The Kansas City Royals returned to Yankee Stadium on Monday for the first time since their 2024 American League Divisional Series against the New York Yankees.
And the Royals grabbed an early lead thanks to Bobby Witt Jr.’s solo home run in the third inning. It was his second homer of the year and capped a 10-pitch at-bat.
But Witt’s homer and late-game single were the Royals’ lone highlights — and only hits of the game. The Yankees clubbed four home runs off starting pitcher Seth Lugo for a 4-1 victory in the series opener.
A left-handed hitter was responsible for each Yankees’ homers. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Austin Wells all took aim at, and planted baseballs on, the short porch in right field.
The Yankees have 32 home runs through 16 games this season.
All four Yankees hammered Lugo’s mistake pitches. It seemed Lugo couldn’t get his fastballs far enough inside against the quartet of lefties.
“I thought I threw the ball alright,” Lugo said. “I thought I changed speeds pretty well. I made a couple mistakes and they didn’t miss them.
“But I felt like I made a pretty good adjustment after that one inning and I was able to keep them off-balance. You know, it’s one of those games where those little mistakes cost us big-time.”
Chisholm homered in the fourth and Grisham led off a home run barrage in the fifth. He belted a 91.8 mph fastball that Lugo left hanging over the plate.
Rice homered two batters later and Wells provided the exclamation point with a line-drive home run near the right-field foul pole.
“On the Rice (homer), I put it pretty close where I wanted, just a hair down,” Lugo said. “Pretty well-executed pitch. The other ones to Grisham and Wells, I missed across the plate and they were supposed to be away.”
Lugo exited after 6 2/3 innings, having allowed the four earned runs and two walks with four strikeouts.
The Royals (8-9) were hitless after Witt’s homer until he singled in the ninth. Yankees pitchers retired 15 consecutive batters before Kyle Isbel drew a walk in the eighth.
“Not concerned at all,” Witt said of the offense. “I know what we are capable of doing and I know what we can do. It’s just a matter of time.
“We’ve just got to keep preparing and getting better every day. That’s what we are going to continue doing.”
The Royals have scored four runs or fewer in 15 of 17 games to start the season. The Yankees improved to 9-7.
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Here are more notable aspects of Monday’s game:
Royals squander early scoring chance
The Royals had a prime scoring chance in the first inning when Yankees starter Carlos Carrasco walked two batters to open the game.
That brought Royals captain Salvador Perez to the plate with a runner in scoring position and one away. He saw five pitches from Carrasco before striking out on a 84.8 mph changeup.
Then, Carrasco got Royals second baseman Michael Massey to fly out to end the inning.
“We had a couple walks in the first that we weren’t able to capitalize on,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “It’s not going to be 10-12 hits every night. But we need to do a better job of stringing some bigger innings together.”
Carrasco allowed a hit and one earned run five innings. The Yankees’ bullpen pitched four scoreless innings with four strikeouts and one walk.
“We knew he was going to keep the ball down,” Quatraro said. “His off-speed was down strike to ball. I think his fastball shape was a little different. Had some cut on it and it was maybe a little different than what we had expected. But overall, he did what we thought. Kept the ball down and moved it around.”
The Royals entered Monday’s game with a scoring average of 3.25 runs per game. That mark ranks 27th out of 30 Major League Baseball teams this season. The Royals have scored four runs or fewer in their last 10 games, the longest streak by the team in the last two years.
Injury update: Mark Canha begins rehab assignment
The Royals could get veteran outfielder Mark Canha back soon. He is expected to join Triple-A Omaha on a rehab assignment Tuesday.
Canha was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left-abductor strain. He collided with an outfield wall against the Minnesota Twins last week.
Meanwhile, Royals left-handed reliever Sam Long received positive news regarding the inflammation in his left elbow. It’s a minor injury and he will get around five days of rest before beginning to throw again.
What’s next: The Royals continue their three-game series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night. Royals right-hander Michael Wacha returns to Yankee Stadium and gets the start against left-handed Yankees veteran Max Fried.
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This story was originally published April 14, 2025 at 8:42 PM.
