Giancarlo Stanton hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning during a matchup of bullpens, leading the New York Yankees to a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night in Game 3 of their AL Division Series at Kauffman Stadium.
Stanton finished with three hits, drove in two runs, and stole a base for the first time in four years. The Yankees will turn to six-time All-Star pitcher Gerrit Cole on Thursday night, with a chance to advance to the American League Championship Series.
“We need to wrap it up tomorrow. No wiggle room,” Stanton said. “We’ve got to get it done.”
In a game focused on pitching, the Royals used four relievers before Kris Bubic, who had moved from starter to bullpen ace, came in for the eighth. He struck out Austin Wells before Stanton connected on a 3-1 pitch, sending it nearly 420 feet to left field for the lead.
“He’s done it throughout his career with us,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought that at-bat off Bubic was just phenomenal. I think he went up there looking to do damage, looking to do just that.”
The Royals attempted to respond against Luke Weaver in the bottom of the eighth, getting Bobby Witt Jr.’s first hit of the series and a two-out single from Salvador Perez. However, Weaver remained calm and got Yuli Gurriel to fly out, then handled the ninth inning to earn the save and complete 4 1/3 scoreless innings from the Yankees’ bullpen.
Yankees relievers have not allowed an earned run in 13 2/3 innings this postseason.
“I think that’s been one of our strengths, if not our main strength, the whole year,” Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt said.
Meanwhile, Aaron Judge, the leading candidate for AL MVP, struggled again. He went 0-for-4, making his postseason performance 1-for-11 with just an infield single in three games against the Royals.
He did manage to draw one of the Yankees’ nine walks on Wednesday night, bringing their total to 22 for the series.
“You’ve got to tip your cap to them,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “They’re not chasing. They’re not expanding. But we also have to do a better job of limiting those for sure.”
This was the first playoff game at Kauffman Stadium in 3,268 days, since the Royals defeated the Mets in Game 2 of the 2015 World Series. They won their first title in 30 years a few days later in New York. Eric Hosmer, the first baseman on that Royals team, was there to throw the first pitch for a crowd that included Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
