Yankees 3, Royals 1
The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 3–1, on Thursday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, to advance to the ALCS. The improved season is over for the Royals, losing to the one-seeded Bronx Bombers. The Yankees have advanced to their first ALCS since 2022. Although it wasn’t done in their highly explosive offensive domination, their pitching staff did the heavy lifting to see it through.
Yankees – Royals Game Summary
What Went Right for the Royals
Tommy Pham
Tommy Pham, one of the league’s veterans, put on the performance he needed to in a clinical game. Pham went 3-for-3, with half of the team’s hits coming from him. He did all he could, but unfortunately, it was not enough to go through.
What Went Wrong for the Royals
Free Bases
To many, it could be the story of why the Yankees are advancing. The Bronx Bombers had five free trips to first base Thursday, while the Royals had zero. It’s a small metric in the game that can cause so many ripple effects — another day of the Yankees earning free bases.
Runners in Scoring Position
The Royals did not get a hit with runners in scoring position, but worse, the Royals only had two at-bats with runners in scoring position. Witt scored from first on the Pasquantino double.
What Went Right for the Yankees
Gerrit Cole
Cole bounced back in the fashion that a Cy Young Award winner should. He pitched seven innings, giving up six hits, one earned run, four strikeouts, and no walks. It was an immense day for Cole, whose Game One struggles were put past him in Kauffman Stadium.
Bullpen
The bullpen for the Yankees is on fire. Reaching home plate against the relievers seems impossible, and they got the job done tonight again. Clay Holmes and former Royal Luke Weaver came together for three strikeouts and no hits for the last six outs. In elimination fashion, some fans remember when the bullpen blew it, but not in this series.
What Went Wrong for the Yankees
High Fly Ball
The Bronx Bombers did not get the home run ball slamming in the vast acreage of Kauffman Stadium. It was a night of putting the ball in play but not into the outfield seats. Known for their heavy hitters, they will strive to carry it back to the cozier dimensions of Yankee Stadium for Game One of the ALCS.
Quick Hits
The Yankees have advanced to the American League Championship Series for a record 19th time and fourth in the last eight seasons, following 2017, 2019 and 2022 … The Yankees improve to 4–1 in five postseason series vs. the Royals (and 12-9 in 21 games). … Yankees relievers have not allowed an earned run over 15 2/3 innings this postseason.
The Royals became the third team in major league history to make the postseason following a 100-loss season (also the 2017 Twins and 2020 Marlins). … This is the first time in 40 years — since 1984 — that the Royals qualified for the postseason but did not reach the World Series.
Looking Ahead
The Royals move on to 2025 with ambitions that their squad can make noise in the AL Central next season. The Yankees move on to the ALCS, where they will take on the Detroit Tigers or Cleveland Guardians.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro spoke on the ALDS loss after the game, “Really proud of what they’ve done, and it stings, but that’s okay. It’s okay to have it sting because this isn’t where we want our season to end. This isn’t what we hoped for when we started. I think that’s okay to embrace it, that it doesn’t feel perfect.”
Yankees skipper Aaron Boone spoke about how this Yankees team is different from his last two ALCS appearances: “I feel like we’re in a better place right now, just from a roster standpoint, health standpoint. But you get to this point; now we’ll be down to the final four. Everyone is feeling pretty good about their teams. That’s the case for me.”
