Their overall record is still fine, but the Yankees have struggled of late. Even a lot of their wins have required comebacks or them holding on for dear life over the final couple outs. That included Friday night’s series-opening win over the Royals.
On Saturday afternoon in the Bronx, the Yankees finally played a laugher. A hat trick of home runs in the third inning allowed the Yankees to open up a lead over the Royals, and then never let their foot off the gas after that. On the mound, Will Warren
had a very nice day, striking out 11 Kansas City batters in his seven innings. Meanwhile, his offense kept things going, as they clubbed 11 hits and four homers in total.
That allowed the Yankees to have a pretty relaxed final couple innings, as they beat the Royals 13-4.
After a quiet first couple innings, the Yankees unleashed a barrage of homers in the third to take control. Things started out with a bit of good fortune, when a deep fly ball from J.C. Escarra ended up dropping in. That was thanks to an error on center field Kyle Isbel, but it was really a combination of Isbel and Jac Caglianone miscommunicating and colliding, causing Isbel to drop it. Just two pitches later, Amed Rosario hit a rocket out to left field to give the Yankees the lead.
After Aaron Judge drew a walk, Cody Bellinger then added a second two-run homer, taking one into the second deck in right field. Two batters after that, Ben Rice hit his third homer in as many games, as he completed the trio of third inning dingers.
An inning later, Escarra and Bellinger were in on the action again as the Yankees tacked on. With José Caballero on base, Escarra ripped another ball to center, this one going for a RBI double, without any help. Shortly after that, Bellinger punched through a hit to score Escarra.
A couple innings after that, the Yankees got into double digits. In the sixth inning, Caballero set the table again when he led off with a single. He moved to second on an Escarra ground out and then scored when Rosario singled to pick up another RBI. Shortly after that, Bellinger went deep for the second time on the day, hitting a porch job for a second two-run shot.
Warren mostly cruised through the first six innings, but the Royals eventually got on the board in the seventh. With Caglianone on after a single, Carter Jensen homered off Warren to end the Yankees’ shutout.
However even then, the Yankees immediately answered right back. With two runners on, Escarra hit a fly ball to right. Caglianone’s attempt at a diving catch came up short, allowing both runners to score, with Escarra going to third with his first career triple.
Warren’s day ended after that, as the Yankees went to the bullpen for the eighth. His line looked even better before the seventh, but he still had a pretty good day. In his seven innings, he allowed two runs on five hits, while striking out 11. Paul Blackburn replaced him for the eighth and had a quick and easy inning before the offense picked up one final run on a Randal Grichuk sacrifice fly. Blackburn came back out for the ninth and allowed a couple garbage time runs before sealing the deal.
The Yankees and Royals will wrap up their series in the Bronx tomorrow at 1:35 pm ET, with the Yankees trying for the series sweep. Ryan Weathers is expected to go for the Yankees, opposite Cole Ragans for Kansas City.
