KANSAS CITY — The Yankees can win games in a multitude of ways, and during the first three contests in Kansas City they’ve deployed them all on the Royals.
Starting pitching? Check. Defense? Check. Hitting for contact and power? Check. The Yankees have been relentless, pressuring the Royals out of the gate in each game, the latest resulting in an 11-5 win on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium. New York is now 30-9 since May 1 and can secure the four-game sweep Thursday after outscoring the Royals 25-8 so far in this set.
The script, as it has been for much of the season, began with starting pitching. New York got that again with Cody Poteet, who tossed 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball. Yankees starters have allowed just three runs over 18 innings against a Royals team that entered the series with the third-most runs in the American League. In 59 of 70 games this season, starters have yielded three runs or fewer.
And for the third straight game, New York’s starter held a multirun lead before throwing a pitch. Wednesday’s first-inning offensive hero was Jose Trevino, who blasted a three-run homer a Statcast-projected 409 feet into the left-field bullpen. Trevino capped a six-run frame in which six of the first eight batters reached base. At least three of the first four have reached in all three games against the Royals, which has fueled 10 first-inning runs for New York this series.
Yankee pitchers, with a large lead in each game, have settled in early and attacked the zone. The strikeout numbers haven’t been high — Carlos Rodón had three on Monday, Marcus Stroman one on Tuesday and Poteet two — but pitching to contact and using the defense has proven effective.
DJ LeMahieu made a diving play Monday to help curb a potential rally, Anthony Rizzo made an over-the-shoulder catch Tuesday to rob Salvador Perez of a leadoff hit, and Gleyber Torres, who hit a three-run homer Wednesday, saved a run by snagging a 108.3 mph liner from Kyle Isbel with a runner on second in the third. Aaron Judge also got in on the action with a sliding play in center to keep a run off the board in the seventh.
Judge, who singled to extend his monster stretch, and Juan Soto, who reached base four times in his third game since his return, ignite the offense from the top of the order, but Giancarlo Stanton’s recent power surge has provided the Yankees with an even deeper one through nine. Stanton’s mammoth, Statcast-projected 449-foot blast Wednesday followed his 446-foot homer from a night earlier.
