KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Giancarlo Stanton hit a long go-ahead home run in the eighth inning on Wednesday night, leading the New York Yankees to a 3-2 victory against the Kansas City Royals in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
“I just wanted to hit the ball hard,” said Stanton. “You go up and try to hit a homer but you have to put yourself on time. If you get your bat through the zone on time, you give yourself a good shot.”
The Yankees lead the best-of-five set two games to one, and they can advance to the AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 on Thursday in Kansas City.
Stanton finished 3-for-5, driving in another run with a double and adding a stolen base. His 12th career postseason homer, a 417-foot shot to left field against left-hander Kris Bubic, came off his bat at 112.9 mph, according to MLB Statcast data. Bubic (0-1) had not allowed a run in three previous appearances during this year’s postseason.
New York’s bullpen, with Luke Weaver getting the final five outs for his second postseason save, kept the Royals scoreless after the fifth inning. Tommy Kahnle (1-0) got the victory with 1 1/3 perfect innings in relief after following starter Clarke Schmidt and Clay Holmes to the mound.
Kansas City’s best late scoring opportunity came in the eighth when Weaver allowed a one-out single to Bobby Witt Jr. and a two-out single to Salvador Perez. Yuli Gurriel flied out to end the inning.
Royals pitchers issued nine walks, and have allowed 22 walks in the series. Yankees batters managed four hits, collectively going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, and he is 1-for-11 with five K’s in the series. — Reuters
