KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The New York Yankees gained the edge in the American League Division Series despite the Kansas City Royals neutralizing slugger Aaron Judge again.
Giancarlo Stanton, whose booming bat combined with the Yankees’ bullpen to help New York win Game 3 on Wednesday, expects Judge to snap his postseason slump soon, possibly in Game 4 on Thursday in Kansas City.
“He’s definitely going to do damage — it’s only a matter of time,” Stanton said. “He’s had great at-bats, and it’ll come when we need him.”
The Yankees can advance to the American League Championship Series with another victory in the best-of-five ALDS, but so far they have received little production from the league’s top offensive force.
Judge, the likely AL MVP who hit 58 home runs in one of the best individual performances ever during the regular season, went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout as the Yankees won 3-2 in Game 3. He is 1-for-11 overall in the ALDS, and he is mired in a 11-for-81 (.136) postseason rut going back to the start of the 2020 playoffs.
Some positive signs are there. Judge did manage the hardest-hit ball in play in Game 3, a 114.4 mph liner to shortstop Bobby Witt in the first inning. Judge also hit a 99.2 mph flyout in the fifth. He just couldn’t convert among multiple opportunities with runners on base, aside from drawing a walk in the ninth.
Opposite of Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in Game 4, the Royals will give the ball to right-hander Michael Wacha. He started against Cole in Game 1, yielding three runs on four hits in four-plus innings. But he did handle Judge well. Judge was hitless in two at-bats against Wacha in Game 1, and is 1-for-20 with 12 strikeouts against the veteran in the regular season and postseason combined.
“I just try to make quality pitches to a guy like that,” Wacha said. “He’s an unbelievable player. He can do damage.”
The Yankees prevailed on Wednesday despite managing only four total hits, including three from Stanton, whose solo shot in the eighth inning against left-hander Kris Bubic broke a 2-2 tie.
Stanton, who has been hobbled by leg injuries, also stole second base in the sixth inning, though the Yankees failed to bring him home. Stanton, whose only other postseason steal came in 2018, hadn’t attempted a steal in any game since 2020.
The theft was another sign that Stanton is feeling healthier. The Yankees need his contributions. Overall, New York’s offense went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position (stranding 11), unable to take much advantage of nine walks issued by Kansas City pitching. Royals pitchers have walked 22 batters in 26 innings during the ALDS.
“There’s no excuse for walking that many guys,” Bubic said. “If they’re going to put the ball over the fence, you want to make them earn it.”
Royals manager Matt Quatraro credited the Yankees’ approach at the plate but didn’t make excuses for his pitchers.
“They’re not chasing, they’re not expanding (the strike zone), but we also have to do a better job of limiting those for sure,” Quatraro said.
The Yankees’ bullpen has been strong in the ALDS in every aspect. New York’s relievers have thrown a combined 13 2/3 innings and permitted one run, which was unearned on eight hits and four walks with 12 strikeouts.
They will hope for a short night’s work behind Cole, who was far from his best in Game 1. The right-hander yielded four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks in five-plus innings. He struck out four.
In eight career regular-season outings against the Royals, Cole is 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA. Wacha is 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA in 11 regular-season outings (nine starts) vs. the Yankees.
–David Brown, Field Level Media
