Friday, June 13, 2025

Yanks Sweep Royals, Head to Boston

So, in between series against the hated Boston Red Sox, the Yankees went to Kansas City to play the Royals. Max Fried started on Tuesday night, went 7 innings, and allowed only 2 runs on 6 hits, with no walks. He was backed by home runs by Aaron Judge and Austin Wells. The Yankees won, 10-2.

Clarke Schmidt started on Wednesday night, and pitched 6 shutout innings. The Yankees scored 5 runs in the top of the 2nd inning, including another homer by Judge. It was 6-0 Yankees going into the bottom of the 9th, by Mark Leiter Jr. had nothing. Devin Williams had to come in and close it out. Despite my fears, he actually did it. Yankees 6, Royals 3.

How many pitchers does it take to pitch a 5-hit shutout? If you're Brian Cashman, apparently, 5. Will Warren allowed 4 over the 1st 5 2/3rds last night. Tim Hill got the last out in the 6th and the 1st 2 in the 7th. Leiter got the last out in the top of the 7th. It was still 0-0.

In the top of the 8th, Pablo Reyes singled. Judge struck out. Trent Grisham grounded out. But... Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. Ben Rice drew a walk. Paul Goldschmidt hit a drive just over the outstretched glove of Royal 2nd baseman Jonathan India. Reyes tried to score, then stumbled, leaned back to 3rd base, then decided he could score, anyway. 1st baseman Vinnie Pasquantino made a bad throw to the plate, and Reyes scored.

Jonathan Loáisiga pitched a perfect 8th, and Williams pitched a perfect 9. It was the Yankees' 4th 1-0 win of the season so far.

The Yankees head into Fenway leading the American League Eastern Division by 4 1/2 games over the Toronto Blue Jays, 6 1/2 over the Tampa Bay Rays, 9 1/2 over the Sox, and 15 over the Baltimore Orioles.

This series is hardly a must-win, but you want to win as much as you can, especially against, as they say in English soccer rivalries, that lot. Here's the prospective pitching matchups:

* Tonight, 7:10, on YES: Ryan Yarbrough vs. Garrett Crochet.
* Tomorrow, 7:15, on Fox: Carlos Rodón vs. Hunter Dobbins.
* Sunday, 1:35, on YES: Max Fried vs. Brayan Bello. That's right: Not the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast. Instead, they will show the National League's greatest rivalry, the San Francisco Giants at the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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