Hosting their first game of the 2024 postseason in Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees were able to squeeze out a 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals in game one of the ALDS on Sunday. Despite a dissatisfying mound performance from ace Gerrit Cole, the Yanks were able to string together a collection of timely hits, including a game-winning RBI in the seventh from center fielder Alex Verdugo.
“This type of baseball is going to take everybody,” Verdugo mentioned in his post game press conference. “It’s not going to be our big guys that always come through, it takes all of us.”
The final RBI came in the bottom of the seventh inning off the heels of a Jazz Chisholm Jr. base hit. Crushing a ball straight into right field, Chisholm Jr. strolled to first as the Yankees’ lead-off man. With shortstop Anthony Volpe stepping up to the plate, Chisholm Jr. was quickly able to steal second base on a wild pitch from Royals Reliever Michael Lorenzen. Though challenged by the Royals initially, the call stood as it was determined that Chisholm Jr’s foot reached the bag before getting tagged. The stolen base helped set up Verdugo for the score, as a drive to left field punched Jazz in for the RBI single and the lead.
Tasked with stopping the Royals after Verdugo’s score, Yankees relievers Clay Holmes and Tommy Kahnle both combined for only one hit and zero runs in 1.4 total innings. Headed into the ninth, the Yankees called in their closing pitcher Luke Weaver. A former Cincinnati Red, Weaver, quickly struck out three straight batters to end the night.
“To go out there to cap it off, it’s definitely a core memory,” Weaver said after the game.
“I could feel the electricity and all the major things that one would feel out there.”
Yankees supporting cast players such as catcher Austin Wells and second baseman Gleyber Torres also contributed to the game, scoring a combined four RBIs and two runs. Torres set the tone early for the team, hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning to give the team its first lead of the night. The blast served as the only Yankee home run for the game, as no other player managed to register anything more than a double.
The Yankees will face off against the Royals for game three at 7:30 p.m Wednesday in Kansas City.
