MLB playoffs: Yankees win 3-2 on Giancarlo Stanton's home run

The Yankees came into Kansas City on Wednesday night with a crucial battle ahead of them. The Royals, a struggling underdog team that had recently risen from the ashes of 100 losses, had even played them at Yankee Stadium. Game 3 of this American League Division Series game was chaotic and tense and there were plenty of missed opportunities, but the Yankees finally found the key performer that put them over the top with a 3-2 victory.

Giancarlo Stanton, a consistent playoff performer since arriving in the Bronx, had the two big hits – a double in the fourth and a long home run in the eighth – to give the Yanks the lead. The bullpen, which had an outstanding performance despite Monday's loss, once again proved up to the task, shutting down the Royals' offense after Clarke Schmidt faltered in the fifth. The Yankees lead the series 2-1 and have a chance to knock off Kansas City and advance to the ALCS tomorrow night.

In the first inning, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge both struck out baseballs but couldn't get on board. Soto shot a ball up the middle, which would have been the case in most stadiums (though not Yankee Stadium), but he died in the cavernous outfield of Kauffman Stadium. Judge then hit a liner to left, but Bobby Witt Jr. grabbed it before he could reach the outfield. Witt himself was unlucky when he hammered a ball to right that Soto caught from home-first territory for the second time – that fly would have been out in 10 parks.

The Yankees began putting together some good at-bats in the third, increasing Lugo's pitch count. Oswaldo Cabrera drew a walk, giving Gleyber Torres the opportunity to drive in a run. He hit the eighth pitch of his at-bat down the right field line, and Adam Frazier failed to get there. The ball bounced right off the line, but first base umpire Mark Carlson ruled it a foul ball. The Yankees challenged and from some angles the ball appeared to have hit the chalk line, but the decision stood for lack of conclusive evidence. Torres then hit the next pitch to right, but the ball landed harmlessly in Frazier's glove, making for a frustrating end to the inning.

But the Yankees didn't let this setback get them down. Soto got a leadoff walk in the fourth, and while Judge and Austin Wells couldn't get past him, Giancarlo Stanton got Soto's legs going with a long drive into the gap in left-center. A good relay throw might have beaten Soto home, but it sailed up the first base line, allowing him to score on Stanton's double, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

In the following image, the first two bombers reached the base. Alex Verdugo successfully put them in scoring position for Torres, who put them ahead for Soto. If ever there was a reason to lose sight of the game, this was it, with one out and probably both batters dead. Soto fielded a ball to right-center for a sack, but Judge couldn't land the big hit and the Yanks settled for a 2-0 lead heading into the fifth.

Immediately afterwards it became clear that the opportunity for serious damage had been missed. The Royals started an innocent two-out rally against Schmidt with a Frazier single. No. 9 hitter Kyle Isbel was next man up for KC. With two strikes, Schmidt threw a cutter to the outside that Isbel was just able to hold down the left field line for a double. Frazier, who was running up the field, easily scored. Schmidt managed two strikes against the next batter, Michael Massey, but couldn't get him out. Massey hit a liner into the right-center gap, and Soto took an ill-advised dive.

Soto completely failed at the catch attempt, so not only did the Royals tie the game at two, Massey also made it to third with a three-pointer.

That was the end of the road for Schmidt, who was replaced by Clay Holmes. The starter's final line: 4.2 innings, two runs on four hits, four strikeouts and one walk. It was somewhat reminiscent of Carlos Rodón's last evening, although fortunately with less disastrous consequences; As soon as the royals smelled blood, they were ready to pounce. Holmes managed to reach the elusive finale in the fifth round, but the damage was done.

After a failed rally in the sixth inning in which Stanton impressively stole his first base in four years, Soto walked with two outs in the seventh to bring Judge into the game. The Royals sent in Brady Singer, normally a starting pitcher, to provide crucial relief. At this point in the series, Judge was 1 for 10, his only hit coming on a weak infield single with no one on the field near the end of Game 2. This was another moment where the Yankees needed their superstar to step up.

Unfortunately, he just couldn't do it. The judge tried to fully review his swing, but Carlson called him out. Singer left the mound when Judge's book read 0-4 on the night and 1-11 in the series. Regardless of whether the decision was correct (it didn't look like a big hit on the replay), it was another disappointment of a plate appearance by the Yankee captain, who failed to hit the big hit in either game.

But Stanton could. After a wonderful inning with Tommy Kahnle, Stanton got a win against Kris Bubic. A 3-1 slider from left wing landed right in Stanton's golf swing, and the MLB's active home run leader lit it up, driving it well over the Royals' bullpen to left for the go-ahead, 417-footer. Shot.

Stanton now has 12 career playoff home runs and has hit deep at least once in every postseason since joining the Yankees.

The Bombers had another opportunity to step up. After the home run, Anthony Volpe and Cabrera worked on walks to give Verdugo a chance (manager Aaron Boone remained committed to neglecting the big bench he introduced in October). Unfortunately, he faltered on the first pitch and got a poor third out. A narrow 3-2 lead was all the Yankees had to defend.

Kahnle scored first in the eighth before Aaron Boone called on Luke Weaver for what was supposed to be a five-out save. He immediately allowed Witt a leadoff hit to set up the game-winning run. After a nice catch by Volpe on a Vinnie Pasquantino liner, Salvador Perez singled to move Witt to third. In came Yuli Gurriel, who seemed to bring the abiding spirit of the hated Astros to the plate in this series. Weaver exorcised him by inducing a flyout up the middle at the end of the rally. As everyone expected, the Yankee bullpen led the way early in the series.

But Weaver still needed to get three more outs. He had no additional margin for error: the Yankees, of course, left two more runners on in the bottom of the ninth, bringing their total for the game to 11 and their total for the series to 30. They also finished 0-0. 6 with RISP, bringing her score in the series to 3 out of 25 – that's a .120 mark for the morbidly curious.

In the lead, MJ Melendez flew left. Maikel Garcia joined Cabrera in foul territory and Weaver was out. Up came Tommy Pham, who pinch-hit for Frazier. He hit the first pitch he saw into the ground. Volpe pitched first and the Yankees secured the victory. Just like that, Weaver sealed a scoreless 4.1-inning effort out of the bullpen with the five-out save.

Tomorrow the Yankees have the opportunity to advance to the American League Championship Series, where they could face the Tigers if they also beat the Guardians. This special ALDS Rumble will be a rematch of Game 1, pitting Gerrit Cole against Michael Wacha. Note that first pitch will be an hour later than tonight, at 8:08 p.m. on TBS.

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