Giancarlo Stanton finds familiar playoff form as Yankees take 2-1 ALDS lead over Royals

KANSAS CITY — Hours earlier Game 3 of the ALDS, Giancarlo Stanton took the tract astatine Kauffman Stadium for immoderate aboriginal batting practice.

With adjunct Yankees hitting manager Casey Dykes feeding balls done a pitching instrumentality and pb hitting manager James Rowson watching, Stanton repeatedly sprayed heaters crossed the outfield. With conscionable 1 deed implicit 8 at-bats successful the archetypal 2 games of the tied series, the designated hitter made the astir of immoderate other reps.

That enactment paid disconnected for Stanton, arsenic his bat produced a 417-foot, solo location tally successful the eighth inning of Wednesday’s game. The go-ahead blast proved decisive, arsenic the Yankees won, 3-2, and took a 2-1 bid lead.

As Stanton teed disconnected connected the Royals’ Kris Bubic, helium stopped to respect the 12th postseason homer of his vocation earlier rounding the bases.

A #POSTSEASON STANTONIAN BLAST 💪 pic.twitter.com/6ewPuZLdK1

— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2024

Stanton contributed much than conscionable that dinger, arsenic the Yankees scored their archetypal tally erstwhile helium doubled disconnected the halfway tract partition successful the 4th inning. The slugger pumped his archetypal arsenic helium made it to second, arsenic a mediocre relay propulsion from Bobby Witt Jr. allowed Juan Soto to people from first.

Stanton, known arsenic overmuch for his dilatory velocity arsenic his almighty bat successful caller years, adjacent added a astonishing stolen basal to his 3-for-5 nighttime successful the sixth inning. It was his archetypal since 2020.

Earlier successful the game, Clarke Schmidt cruised for astir of his first-career playoff start. The righty permitted conscionable 1 deed portion holding the Royals scoreless for the archetypal 4 innings, but his evening took a crook with 2 outs successful the fifth.

Trouble began erstwhile Adam Frazier deed a brushed azygous toward shortstop. Anthony Volpe, playing down 2nd base, made a backhanded play connected the ball, but helium sailed a propulsion to archetypal arsenic Frazier reached safely.

Kyle Isbel followed up with an RBI treble the different mode to left, putting the Royals connected the board. Michael Massey past tripled erstwhile Soto laid retired for a enactment thrust disconnected the 2nd baseman’s bat. The shot got past Soto and rolled to the partition arsenic the Royals tied the crippled and sent Schmidt to the showers.

He ended the nighttime with 4.2 innings pitched, 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts and 71 pitches.

Back connected offense, the Yankees picked up a tally successful the 5th framework erstwhile immoderate station-to-station question led to a sac alert for Soto.

The Yanks’ archetypal 2 runs came disconnected Seth Lugo. The Royals’ righty besides totaled 2 hits, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts and 87 pitches aft carving the Yankees up astatine Yankee Stadium a period ago.

The Yankees could person perchance scored successful the 3rd inning arsenic well, arsenic Gleyber Torres blooped a shot down the close tract enactment with Oswaldo Cabrera connected first. The shot looked similar it landed connected the foul line, frankincense indicating a just ball. However, the close tract umpire called it foul, a ruling that stood aft the Yankees challenged.

On the game’s TBS broadcast, a fewer constricted replay angles appeared to corroborate that the shot was fair, but Torres yet flew retired to heavy close to extremity the inning.

A imaginable RBI treble from Gleyber Torres was ruled a foul shot earlier and aft reappraisal pic.twitter.com/USa5XqYEoQ

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 9, 2024

Another telephone didn’t spell the Yankees’ mode successful the seventh erstwhile Aaron Judge struck retired connected a cheque swing. Once again, replay sparked immoderate disagreement, but the inning ended determination with Soto stranded connected first.

Judge, meanwhile, ended up going 0-for-4 with a locomotion connected the nighttime contempt immoderate coagulated interaction earlier successful the game. He is present 1-for-11 successful the series.

Luke Weaver was asked to grounds a five-out prevention and the right-hander did truthful successfully pitching 1.2 innings allowing zero runs connected 2 hits.

Here's a broadside presumption of that Aaron Judge cheque swing. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/pZ3gcwN7b0

— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) October 10, 2024

While those calls didn’t enactment retired for the Yankees, they managed to instrumentality a 2-1 bid pb implicit the Royals. The Bombers present person a accidental to beforehand to the ALCS with a triumph connected Thursday successful Kansas City.

Gerrit Cole volition instrumentality the shot for the Yanks successful that pivotal contest. The ace wasn’t peculiarly crisp successful Game 1, surrendering 4 runs (3 earned) and 11 hard-hit balls implicit 5 innings. Still, the Yankees won that crippled successful the Bronx.

Michael Wacha volition besides commencement Game 4 aft opposing Cole successful Game 1. The chap righty lone lasted 4 innings successful the series-opener, arsenic helium gave up 3 earned runs.

Originally Published: October 9, 2024 astatine 10:27 p.m.