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New York Yankees

Yankees Survive and Advance

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KANSAS CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York starting pitcher Gerrit Cole threw seven effective innings, and Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton each supplied key hits Thursday night to lead the Yankees to a 3-1 victory against the Kansas City Royals in a decisive Game 4 of the American League Division Series.

After failing to reach the postseason a year ago but with the win, the Yankees advanced to the American League Championship Series for the second time in three seasons and for the fourth time since 2017. New York won’t learn of its opponent in the ALCS until Saturday, when the Cleveland Guardians are scheduled to host the Detroit Tigers for Game 5 of that ALDS. The Guardians extended their series with a 5-4 victory against the Tigers on Thursday.

The Royals, coming off a 56-106 record in 2023, advanced beyond the wild-card round under manager Matt Quatraro in their first postseason trip since 2015, when they won their franchise’s second World Series. Star shortstop Bobby Witt went 2-for-17 (.118) with a walk in the series.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who came in struggling in the postseason after making himself the favorite to win AL MVP in the regular season, hit a hard double in two at-bats, scored a run, walked twice and stole a base.

Benches and bullpens cleared briefly in the bottom of the sixth inning following a slide into second by the Royals’ Maikel Garcia and Anthony Volpe’s tag for a key double play.

After grinding to a no-decision in the series opener, Cole (1-0) allowed a run and six hits to go with four strikeouts. He kept the Royals off the scoreboard through five innings and pitched out of a jam in the sixth.

New York’s bullpen continued to dominate with Clay Holmes taking the eighth and Luke Weaver finishing in the ninth for his third save of the series. Yankees relievers combined to allow zero runs in 15 2/3 innings in the series.

The Yankees scored quickly against right-hander Michael Wacha who, like Cole, also started Game 1. Three pitches into the first inning, Soto lined an RBI single to right, scoring Torres after he had doubled, to give New York a 1-0 lead.

Wacha (0-1) kept the Yankees from adding more until two outs in the fifth, when Torres lined an RBI single to right, knocking in Alex Verdugo from third. Lucas Erceg then replaced Wacha to put out the rally.

Stanton, who hit the go-ahead home run late in Game 3, came through again with an RBI single in the sixth for 3-0 lead.

The Royals pushed across a run in the sixth when Vinnie Pasquantino hit an RBI double to score Witt with two outs, but strong Yankees defense thwarted KC’s best chance for a bigger inning.

After Garcia led off with a single, first baseman Jon Berti and Volpe turned a Michael Massey grounder into a neat 1-6 double play. Garcia slid hard and Volpe made a dedicated tag for a second out, but Garcia didn’t leave the field immediately. He appeared to jaw with a third Yankees player, which led to a stoppage before heads cooled.

After Pasquantino’s RBI, Salvador Perez popped out to end the inning.

–David Brown, Field Level Media

A Royal Fourth

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Kansas City’s catcher Salvador Perez hit a towering homer off New York’s Carlos Rodon to start a four-run fourth inning and the Royals beat the Yankees 4-2 on Monday night to even their American League Division Series at one game apiece.

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Game 3 of the best-of-five set is scheduled for Wednesday night in Kansas City.

The only remaining player from Kansas City’s 2015 World Series team, Perez forged a 1-1 tie by hammering a 2-0 slider to the back of the left field seats.

It was Perez’s sixth career postseason homer and first since Game 5 of the 2015 AL Championship Series.

The veteran catcher’s 402-foot drive gives him 13 hits in 28 career at-bats off Rodon (0-1), whom he faced frequently when the Yankees left-hander pitched for the Chicago White Sox.

Following Perez’s homer, the Royals continued to pounce on Rodon’s slider, as Tommy Pham and Garrett Hampson had run-scoring singles.

Yuli Gurriel followed Perez’s drive with a single to left on a 2-2 slider and took second on a wild pitch. After Rodon got the first out of the fourth, Pham lined another slider to center to plate Gurriel for a 2-1 lead, then stole second.

With two outs, Pham easily scored when Hampson hit a slider to left for a 3-1 lead, chasing Rodon from the game in the process. Maikel Garcia added an RBI single off Ian Hamilton, but he got caught in a rundown for the final out of the frame.

Kansas City starter Cole Ragans struggled with command at times but held the Yankees to one run on three hits in four innings before the Royals used four relievers to finish the game. Ragans struck out five and walked four.

Angel Zerpa (2-0) got a double play to end the fifth, and John Schreiber got three flyouts in the sixth for Kansas City.

Kris Bubic pitched two innings, getting Juan Soto to fly out to the warning track to end the seventh and retiring Giancarlo Stanton on a double-play grounder to end the eighth. Lucas Erceg gave up Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s homer to start the ninth and a two-out single to Jon Berti before notching the save.

Rodon allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He didn’t issue a walk and fanned seven.

The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the third on Stanton’s RBI single.

New York finished 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media

Devers Delivers vs Cole, Yanks

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BRONX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s 3B Rafael Devers hit a two-run single with the bases loaded in the fifth inning to continue his dominance of New York’s SP Gerrit Cole and the Red Sox snapped a seven-game road losing streak with a 7-1 victory over the host Yankees on Saturday afternoon in New York.

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The Red Sox (75-74) avoided falling under .500 for the first time since June 11 after opening the series with a pair of one-run losses.

Cole (6-5) hit Devers with a pitch in the first inning and intentionally walked the slugger with one out in the fourth to set up a three-run inning. According to YES Network (sourcing stathead.com), it was on record the earliest intentional walk with the bases empty ever issued by the Yankees.

In the fifth, Cole was forced to face Devers after grazing Jarren Duran with a pitch. Devers improved to 14-for-40 in the regular season off Cole by lining a 1-0 curveball to right field that allowed Trevor Story and Danny Jansen to score and give the Red Sox a 5-1 cushion.

Masataka Yoshida started Boston’s comeback with a tying RBI ground-rule double in the fourth, two batters after Devers drew his free pass. In the fifth, Yoshida followed Devers’ hit with a two-run single after Cole hit Tyler O’Neill with a pitch.

OF Wilyer Abreu put the Red Sox ahead 3-1 in the fourth with a two-run single. Earlier, Abreu made a strong throw from right field to throw out Alex Verdugo at second in the third inning.

Boston’s SP Brayan Bello (14-7) allowed one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings and retired Aaron Judge three times after the slugger hit a go-ahead grand slam on Friday. Bello struck out two, walked two in improving to 4-2 in his past six starts.

Four relievers followed Bello, including left-hander Zach Penrod, who made his major league debut and retired Anthony Rizzo with two on to end the eighth.

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Before using four fingers on his right hand to signal he wanted to put Devers on, Cole retired nine of the first 10 hitters. After hitting Devers, he got O’Neill to bounce into a double play to end the first.

Cole was lifted after Yoshida’s single in the fifth and heard some boos while coming off the mound.

The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner was tagged for a season-high seven runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings. He has allowed 11 runs on 12 hits in 8 2/3 innings during his two starts against the Red Sox this season.

New York’s Gleyber Torres hit an RBI single in the third for the Yankees (86-63), whose magic number to clinch a playoff spot remained at four.

–Field Level Media

 

Can Red Sox Stop Yankees’ Streak

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BRONX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New York Yankees have not relied on a prolific offense of late, but rather are doing just enough to eke out wins and widen their lead in the American League East. After game-ending hits by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Juan Soto, the Yankees seek a third straight win when they host the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

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The Yankees (85-62) are 5-2 in their past seven games after dropping six of their previous nine against the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals. Four of those wins are by three runs or fewer and the Yankees have scored more than four runs only once in those contests.

Chisholm got the game-winning single in the 11th inning in Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals and Soto gave the Yankees a 2-1 win over the Red Sox with a single in the 10th on Thursday. The Yankees are two games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East, equaling their largest lead since regaining the division lead Aug. 21.

“Guys are playing really well,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We haven’t had a lot of offense in us there the last few nights but (we’re) doing enough. I thought we had some good at-bats tonight.

The Yankees earned their last two wins despite going 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranding 17. Before Soto’s game-winner, New York left the bases loaded in the fourth and sixth.

New York is getting these wins despite Aaron Judge being stuck on 51 homers. Since hitting two homers against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 25, Judge is homerless in a career-high 16 straight games and is hitting .207 (12-for-58).

Boston (74-73) has lost three straight to New York and is 4 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the third and final AL wild card.

Danny Jansen hit a tying homer in the fifth but the Red Sox were held to four hits and struck out 14 times. The Red Sox have stuck out 50 times in their past four games and at least 10 times in 14 games since Aug. 18.

Rafael Devers was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Thursday and is homerless in 14 games. Since his last homer on Aug. 25, Devers is 9-for-54 (.167).

“I’m not going through my best moments right now but that’s part of baseball,” Devers said through an interpreter. “There are some times when you’re going to go through this stretch and that’s what’s happening to me right now. I’m not perfect and that’s just baseball.”

New York’s Clarke Schmidt (5-3, 2.34 ERA) will make his second start since returning from a lengthy injured list stint. Schmidt missed 86 games due to a strained right lat and pitched 4 2/3 innings of four-hit ball in Saturday’s 2-0 win over the host Chicago Cubs, marking his third scoreless start this season.

Schmidt is 0-1 with a 4.23 ERA in eight career appearances (four starts) against the Red Sox. He last faced them Sept. 14 of last season, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of a no-decision in Boston.

Tanner Houck (8-10, 3.24), who was scratched from his last scheduled start due to a shoulder ailment on Sunday, will pitch for the first time since allowing four runs on five hits in an 8-3 loss on Sept. 4 to the host New York Mets.

Houck is 0-4 with a 4.78 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break after scattering two hits in six innings against the Oakland Athletics on July 11 in his final start before the break.

Houck is 3-3 with a 2.38 ERA in 14 career appearances (nine starts) against the Yankees.

–Field Level Media

 

Yankees Come Back at Fenway

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York catcher Austin Wells hit a sacrifice fly and his shortstop, Gleyber Torres, added a two-run double in the 10th inning to finish the Yankees’ 11-8 come-from-behind win over the host Boston Red Sox on Saturday night at Fenway Park

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Tyler O’Neill (3-for-4, four RBIs) hit go-ahead homers in the fifth and seventh innings for the Red Sox, but New York scored single runs in the eighth and ninth to tie the game.

Aaron Judge went 4-for-4 with a double, homer, three RBIs and three runs to lead New York’s 16-hit attack in making Sunday’s game the rubber match of their three-game series.

Judge hit an RBI double in the eighth, though Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran started a relay that cut down Juan Soto, the potential tying run, at the plate.

In the ninth, Massachusetts native Ben Rice doubled with one out, and Trent Grisham’s two-out double drove in pinch runner Jahmai Jones against Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen, who blew a save for the third time this season.

In the 10th, Torres crushed his double off the center field wall off Chase Anderson (0-2).

New York’s Clay Holmes (2-4) threw two scoreless innings for the win.

Aaron Judge went 4-for-4 with a double, homer, three RBIs and three runs to lead New York’s 16-hit attack in making Sunday’s game the rubber match of their three-game series.

Judge hit an RBI double in the eighth, though Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran started a relay that cut down Juan Soto, the potential tying run, at the plate.

In the ninth, Massachusetts native Ben Rice doubled with one out, and Trent Grisham’s two-out double drove in pinch runner Jahmai Jones against Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen, who blew a save for the third time this season.

In the 10th, Torres crushed his double off the center field wall off Chase Anderson (0-2).

New York’s Clay Holmes (2-4) threw two scoreless innings for the win.

Red Sox Rally Past Yanks, 9-7

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida’s two-run single up the middle highlighted a three-run eighth inning that helped Boston earn a 9-7, series-opening victory over the visiting New York Yankees on Friday night at Fenway.

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The Red Sox rallied after back-to-back home runs by Aaron Judge and Austin Wells in the seventh gave the Yankees a 7-4 lead in the seventh inning. Judge bashed a go-ahead, three-run shot to deep center.

Starting the comeback in the bottom of the seventh, Ceddanne Rafaela crushed a two-run homer to deep left that scored Yoshida.

In the eighth, Boston put two on against reliever Luke Weaver (4-2) before Wilyer Abreu greeted reliever Clay Holmes with a game-tying single. That set up Yoshida for the game-deciding hit.

Rob Refsnyder finished with three hits, two runs and an RBI for the Red Sox, who have won two of three following a four-game skid.

Bailey Horn (1-1) earned his first major league win, and Kenley Jansen worked around two hits and struck out two in the ninth for his 20th save.

Wells and Gleyber Torres had three hits apiece for New York, which has lost three straight and five of the past six.

Tyler O’Neill’s sacrifice fly staked Boston to a 1-0 lead. Consecutive one-out singles by Refsnyder and Connor Wong and a walk to Rafael Devers loaded the bases before the RBI opportunity.

The visitors were not down for long, as Anthony Volpe crushed a two-out solo homer to straightaway center field to bring the Yankees even in the second.

A pair of one-out hits by Wong and Devers helped the Red Sox jump back in front in the third. After Wong doubled inside third base, Devers’ knock to left made it a 2-1 game.

It was more of the same for Boston in the fourth. Romy Gonzalez began the inning with an infield single before Jarren Duran’s knock moved him to third, while a second consecutive two-out hit by Refsnyder rolled to the left field wall for an RBI double.

The Yankees quickly responded with a two-run fifth to tie the game, getting an RBI double from Trent Grisham and a sacrifice fly from Alex Verdugo.

The hosts continued to put the pressure on in the bottom of the fifth, scoring a go-ahead run on Yoshida’s sacrifice fly following a walk to Devers and O’Neill’s double through the left side.

Boston reliever Zack Kelly was greeted rudely during the visitors’ four-run seventh, allowing the back-to-back homers.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox, Devers Take it to the Yankees

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BRONX (New York) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Rafael Devers hit a tiebreaking home run with one out in the seventh inning and went deep again in the ninth as the surging Boston Red Sox recorded a 3-0 victory over the host New York Yankees on Sunday night.

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Boston won for the sixth time in seven games and improved to 16-6 in its past 22 games. The Red Sox also beat the Yankees for the 12th time in the past 17 head-to-head meetings and sent New York to its 15th loss in 20 games overall.

Devers added to his resume against the Yankees when he belted a 2-2 fastball from New York starter Luis Gil (9-5) into the left-center-field seats to put Boston up 1-0 in the seventh. Devers was named to the American League All-Star team along with outfielder Jarren Duran and right-hander Tanner Houck earlier Sunday.

Devers connected again in the ninth, hammering an 0-1 fastball from Michael Tonkin into the New York bullpen.

Devers hit three homers in the series. He has 16 career home runs at Yankee Stadium and has smacked 28 overall against the Yankees.

It was the second multi-homer game of the season for Devers, and the 18th of his career.

Boston starter Kutter Crawford (5-7) allowed four hits in seven innings while throwing 54 of his 68 pitches for strikes. Crawford struck out four, walked none and frequently got ahead of New York hitters.

Gil, a rookie, allowed one run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings and lost his fourth straight start. He struck out nine and did not issue a walk for the first time in his career.

New York was unable to win consecutive games for the first time since winning four straight from June 9-12. The Yankees also were blanked for the sixth time this season.

New York’s Ben Rice struck out twice and went 0-for-4 after becoming the first rookie in team history to hit three homers in a game during Saturday’s 14-4 victory.

Rookie Ceddanne Rafaela also went deep for the Red Sox, smacking a solo shot in the eighth.

Reliever Justin Slaten stranded a runner in the home half of the eighth when Devers made a bare-handed play on a slow grounder by DJ LeMahieu to end the inning. Kenley Jansen pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 18th save of the year.

–Field Level Media

Rookie Rice Packs Punch v. Sox

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BRONX (New York) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New York Yankees were hoping for improved production from the leadoff spot when rookie Ben Rice was moved up on Thursday.

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A three-homer game probably wasn’t anticipated, but after Rice accomplished that feat on Saturday, the Yankees are in position to win their first series in over three weeks and hope to get rolling again when they face the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night in the Yankees’ final home game before the All-Star break.

After Rice homered three times in New York’s 14-4 rout on Saturday, New York is seeking consecutive victories for the first time since winning the first three games of a four-game series at Kansas City on June 10-13.

“Hopefully, it’s something that is a jump-start (for) us because it’s obviously not easy for us right now,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Rice was moved up to the leadoff spot to replace a struggling Anthony Volpe when the Yankees took an 8-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. He hit his first career homer in that game and drove in seven runs on Saturday.

Rice was 1-for-9 in his first two games at the top of New York’s order before helping the Yankees win Saturday for just the fifth time in their past 19 games. He hit a leadoff homer, capped a seven-run fifth inning with a three-run homer, and added another three-run homer in the seventh to become the first Yankee rookie with three homers in one game.

Gerrit Cole vs Red Sox Matinee

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BRONX (New York) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Gerrit Cole’s first two outings after a lengthy rehab from an elbow injury featured some uncharacteristic struggles.

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His third outing was a step in the right direction and the struggling Yankees are hoping to witness continued progress from their ace when Cole faces the visiting Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon.

Cole (1-1, 6.23 ERA) will pitch after the Yankees fell to 4-14 in their past 18 games with their 5-3 loss on Friday. The Yankees were one strike away from winning but saw their losing streak reach four when Masataka Yoshida hit a tying homer off Clay Holmes and rookie Ceddanne Rafaela hit a tiebreaking homer to open the 10th off Tommy Kahnle.

“It’s a difficult time,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after New York’s fifth straight home loss. “You got to dig down and it’s a quick turnaround tomorrow, get ready to play and find out what we’re made of.”

After three rehab starts from the injury sustained in spring training, Cole returned and pitched four-plus innings, throwing 62 pitches, in a no-decision against the Baltimore Orioles on June 19. He followed that by throwing 72 pitches against the New York Mets on June 25 when he allowed six runs and seven hits, including four homers, with no strikeouts in four innings of a 9-7 loss.

On Sunday, Cole was back to being himself when he allowed one run on three hits in five innings during an 8-1 win at Toronto. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner also saw his pitch count bumped up to 90.

“I thought it was a good blend of stuff and command,” Cole said. “I pitched pretty smart for the most part, so it was a good day. There was a pretty conscious effort to hone in the command a little bit, making sure we’re giving ourselves a chance over the plate. That’s part of the buildup process.”

Cole is 7-5 with a 4.68 ERA in 17 career starts against the Red Sox. Since joining the Yankees as a free agent after the 2019 season, the right-hander is 5-4 with a 5.16 ERA in 12 starts and has particularly struggled against Rafael Devers, who is 12-for-38 (.316) with seven homers and 17 RBIs in their previous matchups.

The Red Sox are 13-4 and on a five-game winning streak after the comeback. Boston also is 11-4 in the past 15 meetings with the Yankees and 10-1 in its past 11 road games.

“It’s always special to come here and win games,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We know where we’re at in the standings. Like I said last week, let’s not settle. Let’s keep pushing and see where it takes us.”

Josh Winckowski (2-1, 2.80) will make his 20th career start and the Red Sox are hoping it goes as well as last weekend. He allowed four hits and threw 58 pitches in five innings of a 4-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.

Winckowski is 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA in five career appearances (two starts) against the Yankees.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Face Yankees in Big Series

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BRONX, (New York) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Three weeks ago, the New York Yankees rolled into Boston as the best team in baseball, cruised to an easy win and became the first club with 50 wins this year.

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Since then, the Yankees have fallen into a deep slump and have lost their lead in the American League East. But they hope to return to their previous form when they host the Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series tonight.

The Yankees were 50-22 and held a 3 1/2-game lead on the Baltimore Orioles atop the AL East after beating the Red Sox 8-1 in a June 14 contest highlighted by Alex Verdugo’s return to Boston.

New York was outscored 17-7 in the last two games of the series, and those contests started their current 4-13 slide.

Heading into 12 straight games against division opponents bridging the All-Star break, the Yankees are coming off getting swept at home by the Cincinnati Reds. The Yankees never led in the three-game series, dropping the finale 8-4 on Thursday.

New York finished with seven hits, three from Verdugo. Juan Soto hit a two-run homer, and Austin Wells and rookie Ben Rice hit solo homers.

“Just not really clicking the way we were to start the season, just not going our way,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said. “It’s baseball. It’s a long season. You’re going to have a tough spell here and there.”

The Red Sox were a .500 team following the opener of the last series against the Yankees but are 12-4 since.

Boston has scored 87 runs (5.4 per game) in that span. The Red Sox extended their winning streak to four games when Tyler O’Neill capped a three-hit showing by getting a clutch double in the 12th inning of a 6-5 win over the host Miami Marlins on Thursday.

“It was a grinder but a good one,” manager Alex Cora said after the Red Sox survived going 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position. “It’s not that we played sloppy; they just played hard, too. I’m just glad we ended up winning the game, and we have to be ready for (Friday).”

Rafael Devers drove in two runs without getting a hit and is batting .378 (14-for-37) over his past 10 games. He also has 19 of his 51 RBIs in the past 16 games and is one hit shy of 1,000 for his career.

Nestor Cortes (4-7, 3.51 ERA) will start the series opener for the Yankees. The left-hander is 4-3 with a 1.84 ERA in nine home starts this season, 0-4 with a 5.63 ERA in his nine road starts.

Cortes is coming off his second set of consecutive losses this season. He allowed three runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings on Saturday in Toronto. He last pitched at home on June 23 against the Atlanta Braves, when he permitted three runs in seven innings.

Cortes has not faced the Red Sox this year. He is 2-0 with a 5.59 ERA in 10 career appearances (four starts) against them.

Tanner Houck (7-6, 2.67 ERA) will get the ball for Boston on Friday. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 5.94 ERA in his past three outings after earning four consecutive wins. Houck was shelled for eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings during an 11-1 loss to the visiting San Diego Padres on Saturday.

Houck, who is set for his first outing against the Yankees this year, is 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA in 12 career appearances (seven starts) vs. New York.

–Field Level Media