KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Yankees Dominate Royals in 15-1 Victory
The Yankees might have found a new team to assert their dominance over: the Royals. They’ve certainly taken a turn as the club from the American League Central Division that the Yankees seem to beat with ease.
While the Royals haven’t had the same presence as the Twins, their performance lately suggests they could be heading in that direction.
On Tuesday, in what has been a generally challenging stretch for the Yankees, they enjoyed a fantastic outing. They amassed a season-high 24 hits—21 of which were collected before a position player took the mound in the ninth—leading to a decisive 15-1 win against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. This victory marked the Yankees’ third in a row.
The Yankees (33-22) have now won 13 straight games against the Royals (22-33) since the 2024 ALDS and will look to complete a sweep with Gerrit Cole pitching on Wednesday. They’ve also claimed 22 of the last 23 series against Kansas City, outscoring them 43-10 in their five encounters this season.
Every player in the starting lineup had at least two hits. Amed Rosario led with four runs scored, while Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, Anthony Volpe, and Austin Wells each contributed three runs. The Yankees jumped to a 9-0 lead by the third inning, with Rosario hitting two home runs, joined by Grisham, Cody Bellinger, Volpe, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., who also launched homers.
Interestingly, prior to Tuesday’s game, most of the previous eight contests (including a dramatic come-from-behind victory on Monday) were nail-biters, decided by just one or two runs. So, this offensive explosion was a refreshing change, allowing Cam Schrittler to relax a bit. He pitched six innings and recorded a 1.50 ERA, giving the overworked bullpen a needed rest.
The Royals opted to start Bailey Falter, but the plan backfired. He gave up seven runs over just 2 1/3 innings. Falter faced 16 batters, all of whom made contact, and 13 of those hits came from pitches clocked over 95 mph.
Bellinger opened the scoring in the first with a two-out home run, and then Paul Goldschmidt followed up with a double. It looked like the inning might end with a line out from Ben Rice, but the Yankees challenged and replay confirmed that the catch was not secure. This led to an RBI opportunity for Rosario, who capitalized and drove in two runs, putting the Yankees up 4-0.
Volpe, who had been clutch in Monday’s game with a critical two-run single, added his first home run of the season in the second inning—a powerful 409-foot hit. He finished the game going 3-for-5 with two runs batted in and seemed to keep pushing for more playing opportunities.
The Yankees removed Falter after three innings, but it didn’t aid the Royals much. Right-hander Ruinder Avila took over, but the Yankees already led 9-0, having gathered 12 hits, surpassing his performance from any game since early May.
This overwhelming offensive support allowed Schlitzer, who boasts the lowest ERA in the majors through 12 starts, to thrive. He’d thrown over 100 pitches in his last two starts, but managed to pitch through the sixth with just 77 pitches, yielding only a solo home run to Bobby Witt Jr. and striking out six batters before ending his night.
