KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Gerrit Cole’s assignment was to help carry his team a little deeper into October, and the Yankees’ ace delivered.
Shaking off a rough Game 1 outing, Cole tossed seven strong innings in Thursday night’s Game 4, and the Yankees left Kauffman Stadium with a 3-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals to clinch the best-of-five AL Division Series.
Fueled by RBI singles from Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton – the first two coming off Royals starter Michael Wacha – the Yanks advanced to the AL Championship Series.
They’ll await their opponent, either the Cleveland Guardians or Detroit Tigers, with Game 1 set for Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
ALCS SCHEDULE: Here's the Yankees' schedule for the series
In 2024, the Yanks' bullpen has never been better than right now, and Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver helped prove that point again, getting the final six outs without drama.
And for a moment on Thursday night, the series flashed back to the nasty Yankees-Royals playoff meetings of the 1970s.
This wasn’t anything like Graig Nettles taking a swing at George Brett, or Willie Randolph nearly being roadblocked into left field on a Hal McRae slide – but it was tense for a moment.
With the Yankees ahead 3-0 in the Royals’ sixth inning, Yanks shortstop Anthony Volpe’s right forearm caught Maikel Garcia in the throat as he applied a double play tag.
Volpe seemed to give a “didn’t mean that’’ gesture, patting Garcia on the back, but soon the benches and bullpens were spilling onto the field.
After order was restored in fairly quick order, the Royals got on the board with a Vinnie Pasquantino RBI double.
Cole had a bigger scare in the seventh, when Kyle Isbel’s bid for a game-tying, two-run homer landed in Juan Soto’s glove against the right field wall.
Here's our analysis of Game 4:
Gerrit Cole out, Clay Holmes in
That's it for Gerrit Cole, who now hands Clay Holmes a 3-1 lead in the eighth. Six outs to go for the Yanks, and Holmes has been unscored upon in his previous three ALDS appearances vs. KC.
Close call, but Joan Soto is there
Kyle Isbel's bid for a game-tying, two-run homer off Cole sent Juan Soto pinned against the right field wall - where he caught it to end the Royals seventh.
Tommy Pham, who wears out Cole, recorded his third hit of the game (he's 16-for-39 career vs. Cole, a .410 average including postseason) with two out, setting up that bit of drama.
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After that brief mixer at second base, the Royals had their best inning off Cole, cutting the lead to 3-1 entering the seventh.
Bobby Witt Jr. has awakened. He singled sharply to right and scored on Vinnie Pasquantino's well-struck double to left-center, but Cole finished the frame by getting Salvy Perez on a pop up.
Nine outs to go.
And the benches clear
Tempers flared and the benches cleared in the KC sixth, but order was soon restored after the Yankees' newest first baseman Jon Berti started a neat double play.
The trouble happened at second base, where Maikel Garcia was sliding (the force was off) and Anthony Volpe took the throw from Berti.
Bracing himself as he made the tag, Volpe's right forearm caught Garcia in the throat. Volpe instantly patted Garcia on the back in "didn't mean that'' gesture, but as Garcia walked away and turned back, the benches began emptying.
Volpe then made a gesture of shooing back Garcia and the Royals to their dugout while Jazz Chisholm Jr. was particularly wound up, jawing at KC players. Both bullpens also cleared, but it was mostly a shouting session.
Giancarlo Stanton strikes again
It's Giancarlo Stanton's series.
After Austin Wells' groundout pushed Judge (double) to third with one out, Game 3 hero Stanton smacked a single through the drawn-in infield, and it's 3-0 Yankees.
Welcome to the party, Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge's at-bats looked better in Game 3, and he's now doubled to left-center off Erceg leading off the sixth - his first extra-base hit of the ALDS (2-for-13).
Michael Wacha out, Lucas Erceg in with Yankees up, 2-0
With three singles (starting with Volpe) the Yanks have a 2-0 lead in the fifth, as Jon Berti and Gleyber Torres (RBI) delivered sharp hits to right.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro lifted Michael Wacha for his closer, Lucas Erceg in this all-or-nothing game for KC, and Erceg retired Juan Soto.
A moment of appreciation for Anthony Volpe
In his first postseason series, the Yanks' sophomore shortstop is having some really good at-bats, the latest being a leadoff single here in the 5th.
Volpe also made a big defensive play in the eighth inning of Game 3, snaring Vinnie Pasquantino's soft liner on the second base side, preventing runners at the corners with one out in the Yanks eventual 3-2 win.
The Bobby Witt Jr. saga
The Royals' MVP is now 1-for-15 with a walk in this ALDS, after leading off the fourth inning with a bullet of an out.
Witt Jr.'s lineout to left was measured off the bat at 114.7-mph, but it was the start of another 1-2-3 inning for Cole, at an economical 46 pitches through the 4th and leading 1-0.
Gerrit Cole gets out of a slight jam
Cole got Michael Massey swinging for a second time tonight, this time stranding Kyle Isbel at second base to end the Royals third. Still 1-0, Yanks.
After Tommy Pham singled to open the third (and why wasn't he starting in Game 3?), Cole lost a chance at a DP when he double clutched Isbel's comebacker and threw carefully to second base for the force.
RISP Factor
Giancarlo Stanton led off the second inning with an opposite field double, and he was stranded there.
In the ALDS, the Yankees (who won with 4 hits last night) are now 3-for-28 with runners in scoring position.
After Stanton's double, Jazz "they got lucky'' Chisholm Jr. - Kauffman Stadium's new favorite Yankee to loathe - was ahead 3-0 but struck out. Chisholm Jr. though he'd walked on that 3-0 pitch and started to first base.
The crowd noticed.
Gerrit Cole off to a good start
It's a 1-2-3 inning for the Yankees' ace in the first, with two strikeouts. Bobby Witt Jr. flied out, and he's now 1-for-14 with a walk and zero RBI in this series.
Cole, you'll recall, had a hard-hit 1-2-3 inning in Game 1 at the Stadium, and things went south from there.
Yankees strike early
Three pitches in, the Yankees have a 1-0 lead off Michael Wacha.
Gleyber Torres smacked the first pitch to left center and hustled for a double, and Juan Soto drove him home with a ground single to right.
But Aaron Judge rolled into a double play, and the Yanks settled for a 1-0 lead. The Judge Meter in this ALDS now reads: 1-for-12, zero RBI.
Who's on first? Jon Berti
Boone selected right-handed hitting Jon Berti as the choice at first base (over switch-hitting Oswaldo Cabrera) against Kansas City starter Michael Wacha this evening, in a pitching rematch of Game 1.
"That's kind of been my one tough call each day so far,'' Boone said of first base. Cabrera doubled off Wacha in the ALDS opener, Berti has never faced him.
"I've liked how both of them have performed and I thought Berti was excellent on both sides of the ball'' in Game 2, his first MLB start at first base.
Boone "felt like just the balance of the right-left all the way through (the lineup)'' was beneficial, but he "could have just as easily'' chosen Cabrera, too.
Gerrit Cole-Michael Wacha rematch
Cole made it through five innings in Game 1, but yielded four runs (three earned) on seven hits, including an MJ Melendez two-run homer.
Wacha went four innings and yielded three runs on four hits and three walks.
"We understand we're in a good spot, but we're not taking it for granted,'' said Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo. "We're still preparing the right way, vibes are good, but...treating this like a must-win game, too.''
Here’s the lineup the Yankees will be rolling out, with a 2-1 lead in his best-of-five series, at Kauffman Stadium:
Yankees Game 4 lineup
- Gleyber Torres, 2B
- Juan Soto, RF
- Aaron Judge, CF
- Austin Wells, C
- Giancarlo Stanton, DH
- Jazz Chisholm Jr., 3B
- Anthony Volpe, SS
- Alex Verdugo, LF
- Jon Berti, 1B
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: They're back: Gerrit Cole, Yankees on their way to ALCS after knocking out Royals
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