How Royals dropped 5th consecutive game in Friday’s series opener vs. Yankees
Baseball can be a cruel game. And sometimes, one mistake can be the difference on a given night.
On Friday, both the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees were reminded of that valuable lesson. The Yankees were the ones to come away with a 4-2 victory at Yankee Stadium.
The Royals, on the other hand, wound up on the short end. After the Royals’ Vinnie Pasquantino hit a solo homer to tie the game 2-2 in the eighth inning, the Yankees came back to win it at home.
Ryan McMahon, who came on as a defensive replacement, hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Royals reliever Alex Lange in the bottom of the eighth.
Lange threw a changeup that caught too much of the plate. McMahon got just enough as the baseball landed in the first row beyond the left-field wall.
“I feel like when you fall behind guys, bad things happen,” Lange said. “These hitters in this league are really good. It sucks ... going out there and blowing a game. You feel like you let the boys down and they’ve been battling ... all year.”
The Royals (7-13) dropped their fifth consecutive game. And the Yankees improved to 11-9 on the season.
Here’s how we got here:
Royals starter Michael Wacha looked dominant for stretches. He had five strikeouts through four innings and kept the high-powered Yankees offense off the scoreboard for a while.
The Royals right-hander struck out Yankees star Aaron Judge with a 95.3 mph sinker in the third inning. Wacha later retired Giancarlo Stanton with the same pitch.
Wacha was in control. He entered with a 0.43 earned run average — which ranked second in Major League Baseball.
Yet, he made one critical error in the game. With a man aboard, Yankees first baseman Ben Rice hit a two-run homer over the right-field wall.
Rice crushed an 80 mph changeup left at the bottom of the strike zone. And, Royals catcher Salvador Perez knew it immediately. The homer traveled 364 feet and gave the Yankees a two-run advantage.
“The height on it was good,” Wacha said. “Just kind of more middle down. Yeah, would’ve liked it to fade away a little bit more to that corner, for sure.”
The Royals pressed forward. Wacha navigated the fifth inning by stranding runners on first and third base. Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger flew out to end the threat and kept the deficit manageable.
Wacha recorded a quality start in the loss. He allowed three hits, two runs, three walks and recorded six strikeouts in his six innings of work.
“He’s difficult against any lineup,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Wacha. “I mean, you saw him get swing and miss on fastballs up. He had a good slider and probably the best curveball I’ve seen him have. Not just using it as a get me over. Yeah, I mean, he was outstanding.”
As Wacha dealt with his mistake, the Yankees found a way to deal with their own.
In the sixth inning, Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham dropped a fly ball off the bat of Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. Grisham was charged with a two-base error as Witt and Maikel Garcia — who had walked earlier in the inning — represented the tying runs.
The Royals (7-13) had a chance to tie the game with one out. Vinnie Pasquantino recorded an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to one run, with the score at 2-1.. However, Royals catcher Perez struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Royals were facing Yankee starter Cam Schlittler and then a host of relievers.
Schlittler allowed one run in six innings. He surrendered three hits and recorded six strikeouts while 63 of 93 pitches for strikes.
“He’s good,” Pasquantino said. “It’s an elite fastball. He doesn’t shy away from it with the percentages. ... It’s not often a guy that tall is able to do the things he is able to do. So, he’s one of the best pitchers in the game right now.”
In the seventh, the Royals had two runners aboard with no outs. However, Yankees reliever Brent Headrick retired Jac Caglianone, Jonathan India and Starling Marte in order to preserve the lead.
Headrick struck out Caglianone, retired India and uncorked a throwing error on a pickoff attempt to the second base bag. This allowed the Royals runners to move into scoring position.
However, Headrick avoided trouble as he retired Marte on a fly ball to center. It was another instance where the Royals failed to capitalize on Friday night.
Still, Pasquantino later capitalized on his own, squaring things up in the eighth inning with the homer to right field off Yankees reliever Camilo Doval. It was Pasquantino’s second homer on the season and tied this one up 2-2.
But McMahon answered for the Yankees with the two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth, and Yankees reliever David Bednar took care of the Royals in the top of the ninth to seal the win.
What’s next: Royals left-hander Noah Cameron (1-0, 3.94 ERA) will start Saturday’s afternoon game at Yankee Stadium. He will oppose Yankees right-hander Will Warren (1-0, 2.45 ERA) with first pitch set for 12:35 p.m. Central Time.
This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 9:06 PM.
