KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Giancarlo Stanton hit a long go-ahead home run in the eighth inning Wednesday night, leading the New York Yankees to a 3-2 victory against the Kansas City Royals in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
“I just wanted to hit the ball hard,” said Stanton. “You go up and try to hit a homer but you have to put yourself on time. If you get your bat through the zone on time, you give yourself a good shot.”
The Yankees lead the best-of-five set two games to one, and they can advance to the AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 on Thursday in Kansas City.
Stanton finished 3-for-5, driving in another run with a double and adding a stolen base. His 12th career postseason homer, a 417-foot shot to left field against left-hander Kris Bubic, came off his bat at 112.9 mph, according to MLB Statcast data. Bubic (0-1) had not allowed a run in three previous appearances during this year’s postseason.
“It was more about the count than the location,” Bubic said. “That’s where my good slider usually ends up. He had already seen a slider earlier in the count. Sometimes they put a good swing on a good pitch and you have to tip your cap.”
New York’s bullpen, with Luke Weaver getting the final five outs for his second postseason save, kept the Royals scoreless after the fifth inning. Tommy Kahnle (1-0) got the victory with 1 1/3 perfect innings in relief after following starter Clarke Schmidt and Clay Holmes to the mound.
Kansas City’s best late scoring opportunity came in the eighth when Weaver allowed a one-out single to Bobby Witt Jr. and a two-out single to Salvador Perez. Yuli Gurriel flied out to end the inning.
Royals pitchers issued nine walks, and have allowed 22 walks in the series. Yankees batters managed four hits, collectively going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, and he is 1-for-11 with five K’s in the series.
“There’s no excuse for walking that many guys,” said Bubic. “If they’re going to put the ball over the fence you want to make them earn it.”
Stanton’s RBI double got the Yankees on the board against Royals starter Seth Lugo in the fourth, and Juan Soto hit a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead in the fifth.
Kansas City rallied with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Adam Frazier hit an infield single, and the next batter, No. 9 hitter Kyle Isbel, lined an RBI double to left.
Michael Massey followed with an RBI triple to right that barely eluded a diving Soto, getting Kansas City even and sending Kauffman Stadium into a frenzy.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone turned to relief pitcher Holmes, who then walked Witt, the shortstop’s first time reaching base in the series in his 13th plate appearance. Vinnie Pasquantino flied out to end the threat.
–David Brown, Field Level Media
