Royals 8, Yankees 5
I have watched more games at Kauffman Stadium than any other ballpark in major league baseball. In fact, its one of my favorite places to take in a game. It’s where I saw my first pro baseball game and it’s where I saw Derek Jeter play in person for the last time. In the not-so-distant past, Yankee fans would have taken over “The K” and chants of “Let’s go Royals” would have been drowned out by the matching chant of “Let’s go Yankees”. Over the last three seasons the Royals have changed that tradition.
As a youngster growing up in Kansas I rooted for the Yankee team of Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter and Tino Martinez instead of a Royals team void of stardom – besides the occasional all-star (think Beltran, Dye, etc.) and success. Watching this game reminded me of my childhood, but it also reminded me that times have changed.
Kansas City — for the third straight year — is in the midst of a playoff hunt along with the Yankees, but it just feels sometimes like the Royals are miles ahead. The nostalgia that I felt during this game has nothing to do with the x’s and o’s, but I feel it is important to keep the big picture in mind and learn from the past. The Yankees front office is making moves to prepare the team for what will hopefully be a short rebuild phase. Part of that process is starting young guys — getting them valuable playing time. To me, that is what this game against the Royals epitomized. Austin, Judge and Sanchez — all young players — started this game and they will all most likely become integral parts to the Yankees’ future success.
Another young starter in this game, that we sometimes forget is still fairly young, was Michael Pineda. It was a typical Pineda performance. He went seven innings, allowed three earned runs and struck out eight. All of Pineda’s runs were given up in the first inning which — in the end — proved to be his swan song. The Royals did score five more runs to go along with the five runs the Yankees scored making it even more apparent that the first inning was what ultimately sealed the victory for KC.
The Yankee bats weren’t necessarily cold, but they weren’t exactly hot either. Gregorius and Austin each had two hits and Gregorius drove in two of the five Yankee runs. Give credit to the Royals’ starting pitcher Dillon Gee who lasted six innings only giving up one run.
Both bullpens were subpar. The Royals pen gave up four runs while the Yankee relievers gave up five. The Yankees kept it close as they strung a few hits together late, but it wasn’t meant to be as they fell to the Royals 8–5. It would seem that manager Joe Girardi believed this was directly related to the unfavorable balls and strikes calls his team was receiving. He was run from the game in the eighth inning after arguing said pitches. He was not alone, however, as multiple Yankee hitters showed signs of frustration about the calls. These excuses must be short term ones as the Yankees find themselves taking on the defending champions two more times over the next two days – both games containing playoff implications.
The Play: Morales’ RBI Single (+.084 WPA)
Top Performers
Yankees: Didi Gregorius (3 for 5, 2 R, 2 RBI)
Royals: Alcides Escobar (1 for 4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI)
Notes
– Gary Sanchez extended his hitting streak to eight games with a 1 for 4 performance.
– Didi Gregorius extended his hitting streak to ten games.
– With a Baltimore loss, the Yankees – even with the loss – are still only 3 games back from the second wild card slot.
The Quote
“I’m not really surprised at this point.” – Joe Girardi speaking about Gary Sanchez winning AL Player of the Week for the second week in a row.
The Highlight: Sanchez Guns Down Gordon
Up Next
The Royals will host the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium for game two of the three game series on Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. The Yankee starter will be Masahiro Tanaka who put on a dominating performance in his last two starts. In those starts he allowed no runs and struck out 14 while only allowing one walk. Overall Tanaka has been solid for the Yankees in 2016, but much like his teammates, he has been streaky. For what its worth, Tanaka faced the Royals back in May and allowed more earned runs in that game — six earned runs — than he has in any other game this season.
Edinson Volquez will take the mound for the Royals coming off his best start since the all-star break where he managed to last five innings and allowed no earned runs against Miami. Previously Volquez had gone nine straight games with allowing at least one earned run. Look for Volquez to induce a slew of groundballs (53 percent ground ball rate on the year) as he throws a hard sinker for a majority of his pitches.
Photo: John Rieger / USA Today Sports