The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-1 to punch their ticket to the ALCS. It is their first trip to the ALCS since 2022. The offense of the New York Yankees came out firing on all cylinders to begin tonight’s game on the road against the Kansas City Royals. Second Baseman Gleyber Torres cracked a leadoff double and Right Fielder Juan Soto drove him in as New York took an early 1-0 lead. This game remained scoreless until a RBI single by Torres in the top of the fifth made it 2-0 New York. Soto flew out to strand runners on first and third to end the threat.
Center Fielder Aaron Judge recorded just his second hit of the series with a double to lead off the top of the sixth inning. Designated Hitter Giancarlo Stanton then drove him in to give New York a 3-0 lead. Kansas City once again limited the damage by inducing an inning-ending double play from Shortstop Anthony Volpe.
Tempers flared in the bottom of the sixth as the benches cleared after a late slide by KC’s Maikel Garcia and a hard tag at second base by Torres. Fortunately for both ballclubs cooler heads prevailed. Kansas City responded by getting on the board with an RBI double by Designated Hitter Vinnie Pasquantino. Kansas City went down with a whimper as their great 2024 season came to an end on Thursday night. Will New York be able to carry this momentum into the ALCS?
New York Yankees Play Complete Game To Clinch Series
Kansas City’s offense had no answer for the majority of the evening against the New York Yankees pitching staff. Gerrit Cole showcased his Cy Young form tonight. He surrendered one earned run over seven innings of work. Cole rebounded from a poor start in Game One that saw him surrender three earned runs over five innings of work. Clay Holmes tossed a scoreless eighth inning while Luke Weaver shut the door in the bottom of the ninth to send the New York Yankees into the next round.
The Royals pitching staff also had a solid game, but they were let down by their offense this evening. Starting Pitcher Michael Wacha saw his start upended by a few bad pitches. He tossed 4.2 innings and surrendered two earned runs. KC’s bullpen surrendered one earned run over 4.1 innings but it wasn’t enough to extend the series. New York’s powerful offense was limited to 3-of-10 with RISP as Kansas City worked out of a first and third jam in the top of the eighth to give the offense a glimmer of hope.
New York’s Next Opponent
The New York Yankees will head home not knowing which team they will face in the ALCS. The Cleveland Guardians won 5-4 earlier tonight against the Detroit Tigers to force a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday afternoon. Regardless of which team New York will face, the ALCS will begin on Monday at Yankee Stadium. New York took four of six games this season against the Guardians and four of six from the Tigers. The New York Yankees will enter the ALCS as the heavy favorite as they look for their first World Series appearance and victory since 2009.
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