KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Five hours before the New York Yankees faced the Kansas City Royals in a crucial division series matchup on Wednesday, a pitching machine targeted Giancarlo Stanton from an angle off the third-base side of the mound. Aiming to get comfortable with the Kauffman Stadium environment and fine-tune his swing, Stanton knew the significance of his performance for New York’s success in the postseason.
Stanton delivered when it mattered most, hitting a pivotal go-ahead home run in the eighth inning. With newly appointed closer Luke Weaver securing a five-out save, the Yankees triumphed 3-2, putting them one victory away from the American League Championship Series. The win came before an enthusiastic crowd of 40,312 fans. New York now leads the ALDS 2-1 and will turn to reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole for Game 4 on Thursday night.
Finishing the night with a 3-for-5 performance, Stanton drove in Juan Soto with a powerful double in the fourth inning to break a scoreless tie and added a single followed by his first stolen base in over four years in the sixth.
“Can’t put all that work in and have zero results,” Stanton remarked, expressing his satisfaction with his approach at the plate.
Stanton’s 12th postseason home run, coming in just 109 at-bats, arrived after the Royals had rallied to tie the game. Royals reliever Kris Bubic left a slider over the plate, which Stanton hit 417 feet into left-center field.
“From the first at-bat to the last at-bat, I could see how locked in he was,” said Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. “He was doing his thing all day.”
Stanton played a crucial role in the Yankees’ offense, contributing three of the team’s four hits, including both of their extra-base hits. This marked the second occasion in his playoff career that he achieved all of his team’s extra-base hits in a game. He became the first player in Yankees history to accomplish this multiple times in the postseason.
Many fans, including Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tuned in for the Royals’ first home playoff game since their 2015 World Series victory. The early innings featured a pitchers’ duel between Royals starter Seth Lugo and Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt, as both teams struggled to score.
Soto’s walk in the fourth led to Stanton’s double that traveled off the bat at 114.1 mph, bouncing off the left-center fence. After a powerful grounder earlier in the game, Stanton’s hard hits fueled optimism among teammates.
“He works, man. He works,” Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo said. “He gets after it … and today you really saw it kind of take over.”
Stanton’s stolen base in the sixth was a surprise, igniting excitement in the Yankees dugout, though they couldn’t capitalize. The Royals also faced missed opportunities, particularly in the eighth when Witt and Salvador Perez connected for singles, leaving runners on the corners. Gurriel’s fly out to center field ended the threat, while Weaver continued his impressive stint as a closer.
“I know it’s kind of silly,” Weaver said. “I think I’m just a man on a mission.”
The Yankees can clinch their 19th ALCS appearance with a Game 4 win on Thursday, facing a potentially hostile crowd at Kauffman Stadium. Chisholm was already on the receiving end of boos due to his comments after the Royals’ Game 2 victory.
“I ain’t never seen nobody boo a bum,” he remarked, despite going 0-for-4 in this game after hitting a ninth-inning home run in Game 2.
With a performance like Wednesday’s, the Yankees aim to avoid leaving anything to chance, especially with Royals ace Cole Ragans potentially on the mound for a Game 5.
“We need to wrap it up [Thursday],” Stanton stated. “No wiggle room. We’ve got to get it done.”