SUMMARY
The New York Yankees got their hands on the important 3rd game of their series against the Kansas City Royals by winning 3-2 on Wednesday night, thanks to a solo home run by Giancarlo Stanton in the 8th inning.
Stanton finished the game with three hits, scored two runs, and stole a base for the first time in four years.
“We have to finish this tomorrow. There’s no wiggle room, Stanton said. We have to finish the job. »
The Yankees will turn to Gerrit Cole on Thursday night with a chance to reach the American League Championship Series.
Stanton opened hostilities with a productive double in the top of the 4th inning to send Juan Soto to the plate.
Then, in the next inning, Soto hit from the presence of Anthony Volpe at 3rd base to produce a second run thanks to a sacrifice fly.
The Royals responded in the next half inning when Kyle Isbel cut the lead in half with a double, before Michael Massey tied the game with a triple for a run.
In the top of the 8th, Stanton found the perfect moment to hit his first long ball of the playoffs. The hitter went there with a momentum that left no doubt after Kris Bubib’s offering. Stanton watched the ball disappear toward the right field stands for a long time before starting to circle the paths.
The Royals used four relievers before calling on Kris Bubic in the eighth. The latter struck out Austin Wells before granting the home run to Stanton which gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead.
“He did it his whole career with us,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. I found this presence against Bubic to be phenomenal. He came to the plate to do damage and that’s what he did. »
The Royals attempted a final response in the bottom of the inning when Salvador Perez allowed Bobby Witt to advance to third base on a two-out base hit, but Luke Weaver forced a groundout from Yuli Gurriel to end the threat. .
The Yankees won despite another frustrating night for American MVP candidate Aaron Judge. The slugger has been shut out in four at-bats, and is now 1-for-11 with just one infield single in three games against the Royals.
It was the first postseason game at Kaufmann Stadium in 3,268 days, since the Royals beat the Mets in Game 2 of the 2015 World Series. They won their first title in 30 years a few days later at New York.
