The Kansas City Royals took a 4-1 lead against the New York Yankees, driven by key RBI hits from Tommy Pham, Garrett Hampson, and Maikel Garcia.
At Yankee Stadium on Monday night, frustration did not overshadow the home team’s clubhouse despite a missed opportunity to edge the Royals closer to playoff elimination. The Yankees expressed a sense of calm confidence following their 4-2 defeat in Game 2 of the AL Division Series, which now shifts to Missouri with the series tied at one game each.
Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. maintained a positive outlook, stating, “It still feels the same, that we’re going to win [the series]. I don’t feel like anybody feels any different. We’re going to go out there and do our thing still. We still don’t feel like any team is better than us. We had a lot of missed opportunities tonight, so they just got lucky.”
For the first three innings, the Yankees played with confidence. Carlos Rodon harnessed the electric home crowd, striking out three batters in the first inning and showing off his strong fastball. The Yankees took the lead in the third when Giancarlo Stanton’s hit allowed Gleyber Torres to score. However, as much as the Yankees had the momentum, they struggled to capitalize, leaving eight runners on base and going just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring positions.
Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge acknowledged the missed chances, saying, “They were making their pitches when they needed to. We got a couple of guys in scoring position and they buckled down. We got to come through in those situations.”
Judge, who has faced challenges in the postseason, managed to reach base multiple times in the game but could not convert those opportunities into runs. He finished the game 1-for-3, having started the series with a disappointing performance.
On the other hand, the Royals’ offense surged during a four-run fourth inning, sparked by veteran Salvador Perez’s leadoff home run. Following Perez’s homers, the Royals added three more runs through singles and smart baserunning, ultimately chasing Rodon from the mound.
As the series heads to Kauffman Stadium for Game 3, the Royals will aim to build on their momentum while the Yankees remain determined to deliver a stronger performance, fueled by the belief that they are the superior team despite the Game 2 setback. Yankees manager Aaron Boone expressed confidence in his team, saying, “These guys are really confident and understandably so, and we’ll be ready to go in Game 3.”