The New York Yankees are on their way to the American League Championship Series. On Thursday, they defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-1, and won the best out of five American League Divisional Series three games to one. The Yankees will now either face the Cleveland Guardians or the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series starting on Monday. The Guardians and Tigers will play a fifth and deciding game in the American League Divisional Series on Saturday.
Who contributed for the Yankees on Thursday?
The Yankees got a quality start from starting pitcher Gerrit Cole of Newport Beach, California. He pitched seven innings and gave up only one earned run and six hits to go along with four strikeouts. Cole threw 87 pitches of which 63 were strikes. It was the 11th postseason quality start that Cole has had in his Major League career.
Meanwhile, from an offensive standpoint, the Yankees scored a single run in the top of the first, top of the fifth, and top of the sixth inning. In the top of the first, Yankees right fielder Juan Soto of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic had a RBI single which scored second baseman Gleyber Torres of Caracas, Venezuela, who began the game with a double. In the top of the fifth, Torres had a RBI single which scored left fielder Alex Verdugo of Tucson, Arizona, who reached base on a fielder’s choice. Then in the top of the sixth, designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton of Panorama City, California had a RBI single, which scored center fielder and American League MVP favourite Aaron Judge of Linden, California, who doubled earlier in the inning.
Guardians stay alive
Cleveland beat Detroit 5-4 on Thursday to tie the other American League Divisional Series at two games apiece. Guardians leadoff hitter and left fielder Steven Kwan of Los Gatos, California led Cleveland with three hits, while third baseman Jose Ramirez of Bani, Dominican Republic and pinch hitter David Fry of Irving, Texas each homered.
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