In a thrilling matchup on Monday night, the Kansas City Royals overcame the New York Yankees with a final score of 4-2, evening their American League Division Series at one game each. The Royals ignited their offense when Salvador Perez launched a home run to lead off the fourth inning, fueling a four-run rally against Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon.
Tommy Pham, Garrett Hampson, and Maikel Garcia contributed with key singles that each drove in runs for Kansas City. Garcia, who was elevated from ninth to first in the batting order, delivered an impressive performance with four hits.
The Royals’ pitching staff was effective, with four relievers keeping the Yankees at bay after Cole Ragans pitched four innings, allowing one run and three hits while striking out five and walking four. Angel Zerpa and John Schreiber each pitched a hitless inning before Kris Bubic contributed two scoreless innings. Lucas Erceg closed the game for his third save of the postseason, despite giving up a leadoff homer to Jazz Chisholm Jr.
The Yankees initially took the lead with an RBI single from Giancarlo Stanton in the third inning, but struggled with runners in scoring position, going just 1-for-6 in that situation and 3-for-19 across the first two games of the series.
Game 3 of this best-of-five series is set for Wednesday night in Kansas City, marking the Royals’ first postseason home game since the 2015 World Series. Notably, Yankees star Aaron Judge finished the game with one hit but has struggled overall in the series, while Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals also had a tough outing, extending his hitless streak to ten at-bats.
With the series tied 1-1, excitement builds as both teams look to gain an advantage in the upcoming games.