A frustrating error cost the KC Royals against the Yankees. Who took the blame?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Erceg's errant throw enabled Yankees' lone run in pivotal eighth-inning play.
- Royals' failed execution extended their losing streak to eight versus Yankees.
- Kansas City fell 10½ games back in AL Central after dropping 19 of 29 games.
Any little mistake is magnified in one-run games. And the Kansas City Royals were reminded of that against the New York Yankees on Thursday night.
In the eighth inning, the Royals and Yankees were tied. It was a scoreless contest as the Royals attempted to salvage a win in their 2024 American League Division Series rematch against the Yankees.
The Royals turned to their top reliever Lucas Erceg. He had just returned from a low back strain that sidelined him on the 15-day injured list.
Erceg relieved Angel Zerpa on the mound. The Yankees had a runner on first with feared MLB slugger Aaron Judge at the plate. It wasn’t an issue for Erceg, who got Judge looking on strikes.
The issue came in the next at-bat. Erceg faced Yankees leadoff hitter Paul Goldschmidt and he rocketed a line drive off the glove of Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino.
Pasquantino gathered the baseball and threw it to Erceg covering the bag. However, Goldschmidt beat the throw and left Erceg in a no-win situation.
Meanwhile, Pablo Reyes — who represented the go-ahead run — sprinted around the bases and was headed home. He slipped rounding third base and was caught in-between the base paths.
Erceg realized he had a chance. However, he made an errant throw to the plate as Reyes scored the game’s lone run.
It left Royals fans in confusion — and with some frustration: How exactly did this happen?
“I mean, more or less, I let the game kind of speed up on me,” Erceg said. “It was my first time out there in a couple of weeks. Obviously, I wanted to get rid of the ball and noticed he was out stuck in the middle. I wanted to get him going in one direction or the other. Once he started running towards home, I didn’t have time to set my feet. So I thought I was going to be athletic enough to make that play, but made an errant throw.”
The error proved costly. The Yankees held on for a 1-0 victory and swept the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals have now lost eight consecutive games to New York since their ALDS matchup last October.
“Now that I think about it, just get rid of the ball,” Erceg said. “You know what I mean, don’t be a hero. Let your teammates pick you up a little bit.”
Pasquantino also took fault for the play. He felt he should’ve corralled the baseball after it bounced off his glove.
“I haven’t gone back to look at it but probably should’ve just held onto it,” Pasquantino said. “Just thought there was a play to be made at first. Once I threw it, I realized he is already through the base. There is no play there. Hindsight being 20-20, I wish I would’ve turned and found the runner. I was just trying to make a play.”
The Royals have now lost 19 of their last 29 games and fallen further behind in the AL Central. The club is 10 ½ games behind the Detroit Tigers for first place.
Pasquantino knows the team must be better. Tough losses and mistakes are only magnified further when games are decided by a run or two.
“You want to get the job done and right now we are not,” Pasquantino said. “And it’s all across the board. It’s not one guy. It’s everybody. We’ve all got to pick up our weight and find a way to put some runs on the scoreboard.”
