By Chris Kirschner, Brendan Kuty, Rustin Dodd and Tyler Kepner
NEW YORK – The Kansas City Royals evened this American League Division Series with a 4-2 victory at Yankee Stadium on Monday, riding four singles by Maikel Garcia and stingy relief work behind Cole Ragans.
Garcia – switched to the leadoff spot for Game 2 on Monday because manager Matt Quatraro said he “raises his level of competition a little bit in this atmosphere” – capped the Royals’ four-run rally with a run-scoring single in the fourth inning.
That rally, which knocked out Yankees starter Carlos Rodón, began with a homer by Salvador Pérez and also included singles by Yuli Gurriel, Tommy Pham and Garrett Hampson.
Ragans allowed one run in four innings, but the Yankees put runners on base in each one. After a rough night for the bullpen in Game 1, the relievers delivered for Quatraro this time, with Angel Zerpa, John Schreiber and Kris Bubic holding the Yankees scoreless from the fifth through the eighth.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. greeted closer Lucas Erceg with a homer in the ninth, but Gleyber Torres – as the potential tying run – grounded out to Bobby Witt Jr. to end the game and send the series to Kauffman Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday.
Yankees’ offense is missing
The Yankees are heading to Kansas City with a split, as their offense has been abysmal despite having plenty of chances to capitalize.
The Yankees had an opportunity to jump out to a quick lead in the first inning for the second straight game after Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto reached base, but they came away with nothing. Royals starter Cole Ragans struggled to find the strike zone to start Monday’s game, yet Aaron Judge struck out with runners on first and second, swinging through a fastball in the middle of the zone. This allowed Ragans to settle in from there. Austin Wells followed with another strikeout, and Giancarlo Stanton shattered his bat on a ground out to end the inning.
Through two games, the Yankees have left 19 runners on base and are 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position. One way to combat the lack of situational hitting is to slug, but the Yankees aren’t doing that either; they have just two home runs in this series — a two-run homer from Torres in Game 1 and a solo homer from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the ninth inning of Monday’s game.
The Royals had by far the worst offense in MLB during September, finishing last in wRC+ and slugging percentage. Through two games, the Royals are keeping pace with MLB’s second-best offense this season.
Carlos Rodón flames out
By the end of Carlos Rodón’s night, he was a smoldering lump of soot and glowing embers.
The lefty started like fireworks, striking out the side in the first inning and holding Kansas City scoreless through three innings. In the fourth, he flamed out — the Yankees’ second straight disappointing starting pitching performance coming a game after ace Gerrit Cole was simply serviceable.
Salvador Pérez crushed him for a leadoff home run, belting a 2-0, hanging slider deep into the seats in left field to tie the game at 1-1. Then Yuli Gurriel singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Then Tommy Pham drove Gurriel in with a single of his own. With two outs, Garrett Hampson ripped a single to left field to plate Pham, and advanced to second base on the unsuccessful throw home.
After manager Aaron Boone pulled Rodón, reliever Ian Hamilton immediately surrendered an RBI single to Maikel Garcia, who got thrown out in a rundown between first and second to end the inning.
For Rodón, it was a major disappointment.
In the first inning, he was bouncing around on the mound, yelling and in total command. In the fourth, the Royals went 4-for-5 against his slider, and the Yankees went behind, 4-1.
Royals still waiting for Witt to heat up
Bobby Witt Jr. led the majors in batting average (.332) and hits (211) this season while authoring his second consecutive 30-30 campaign. But he’s still waiting to make an impact with the bat in this series, going 0 for 5 in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
Witt, who had just one two-game hitless streak from June 24 through the end of the regular season, struck out, grounded into a fielder’s choice, struck out two more times and fouled out on Monday.
The good news for the Royals is that they split in the Bronx, anyway, and the next two games will be in Kansas City – where Witt was a monster this season. He hit .382/.441/.676 at Kauffman Stadium, taking advantage of the spacious outfield to scurry for 31 doubles and nine triples.
In the field, Witt gloved but couldn’t stop Giancarlo Stanton’s hard smash in the third, which went for a run-scoring single to give the Yankees an early lead. But with Stanton up again in the eighth, with one out and a runner on first, Witt dove on the grass for a backhanded stab, snaring the grounder to start an inning-ending double play.
Gurriel has found the fountain of youth
The Royals acquired first baseman Yuli Gurriel from the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 31, one day before the deadline to be eligible for the postseason. Kansas City was desperate for help at first base after Vinnie Pasquantino had broken his thumb two days earlier. Gurriel, 40, had spent the whole season at Triple-A Gwinnett.
Five weeks later, Gurriel isn’t just an extra body. He’s been one of the Royals’ best players through two games in this ALDS.
On Monday, Gurriel singled and scored a run during a four-run fourth inning, helping the Royals’ offense chase Rodón. It came two nights after he finished 1 for 2 with two walks and three runs scored in a 6-5 loss in Game 1.
Gurriel, of course, is no stranger to the postseason. He hit .267 with eight homers across 85 playoff games for the Houston Astros from 2017 to 2022, winning two World Series. But when he joined the Royals roster for the stretch run, he hadn’t faced major-league pitching since finishing last season with the Miami Marlins.
It took him a moment to find his footing; Gurriel hit .214 with a .338 on-base percentage and three doubles across 18 games in September. But even after Pasquantino returned to DH in the postseason, Gurriel has remained a fixture in the lineup.
“What our expectations were, we didn’t know,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said before Monday’s game. “He had been injured — hamstring — but he came in and it’s been a very linear improvement healthwise, the way he’s been moving. But his comfort level with us and with the team and being in the playoff race was very motivating to him.”
Gurriel isn’t the only late-season addition who contributed on Monday. Outfielder Tommy Pham, claimed off waivers on the same day, also had an RBI single and run scored in the top of the fourth. He added two nice running catches in deep right field in the bottom of the sixth and bottom of the seventh.
(Top photo of Yankees dugout: Elsa/Getty Images)
