Yankees end Royals remarkable season with 3-1 defeat in Game 4 of ALDS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - It only took three pitches for the New York Yankees to take a 1-0 lead in Game 4 of the ALDS at Kauffman Stadium.

The quick strike of the Yankees bats with a leadoff double from shortstop Gleyber Torres and RBI single from right fielder Juan Soto gave New York a lead over Kansas City Royals starter Michael Wacha.

Kansas City never recovered, ending the Royals season with a 3-1 loss in Game 4.

The loss culminated a season that followed a franchise-worst 56 wins with a remarkable improvement of 86 victories. A week prior to elimination, Kansas City swept Baltimore in an AL Wild Card series before falling to the Yankees in a 4-game series that sent New York on to play one of Kansas City’s fellow AL Central foes.

“Feel really bad for those guys in the room,” said Royals manager Matt Quatraro, “because as you know, this is seven, eight months of the year that they just pour it all into it, and give every ounce of effort and energy they have.”

In the ninth inning, former Royals reliever Luke Weaver entered for the Yankees, working through the middle of the Royals lineup to end Kansas City’s season.

After gaining an early first-inning lead, New York added to it in the fifth inning when Wacha struggled to put away the bottom of the Yankees lineup, eventually setting the stage for Torres to single to right with runners on first and third base. The single from Torres drove in Alex Verdugo and chased Wacha from the game in favor of Lucas Erceg.

Royals killer Giancarlo Stanton continued to have success, adding an RBI single on a hard-hit ground ball up the middle in the sixth inning to make the score 3-0 Yankees. Stanton’s RBI single off Erceg was his sixth hit of the series and eighth time reaching base in 18 plate appearances.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the benches cleared after a double play for the Yankees defense. Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia took exception to a high tag from Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe on a 1-6 double play ball. Shortly after the faux fight, the Royals rallied with a two-out single from Bobby Witt Jr. and RBI double from designated hitter Vinnie Pasquantino.

GAMEDAY BLOG: Yankees battle Royals in Game 4 of ALDS

Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole pitched 7 innings, allowing 6 hits and 1 run while striking out four batters. He threw 87 pitches.

Cole’s final pitch of the night was blasted into the Kansas City night by Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel but held up by the wind and the cavernous outfield at Kauffman Stadium. When it landed, it did so in the glove of Soto, feet shy of a would-be game-tying 2-run home run.

After Wacha exited following 4.2 innings of work, Lucas Erceg, Angel Zerpa, John Schreiber and Sam Long followed him out of the Royals bullpen.

“It feels like you let a lot of people down,” said Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. following the first playoff series loss of the 24-year-old’s career. “It’s part of the game but kind of something that will light a torch in you and leave you a bad taste for the future because now for Kansas City Royals baseball this is what we want and what we’re going to do every year.

“We’re going to be in the postseason, now it’s how far are we going to go? This team’s gonna be special. Teams aren’t gonna want to play us. It’s gonna be like that for a while.”

The Yankees advance to play the winner of Saturday’s ALDS Game 5 matchup between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians. Kansas City will attempt next season to make the playoffs in consecutive years, just as they did a decade ago in 2014 and 2015.