The Kansas City Royals were eliminated from the 2024 postseason after losing to the New York Yankees by a 3-1 score on Thursday night. Kansas City was unable to get much going offensively against the Yankees ace Garrett Cole while the Yankees were able to score 3 runs off Royals pitching. Kansas City didn’t score their first run until the 6th inning when an RBI-double from Vinnie Pasquantino scored Bobby Witt Jr. The Royals had other offensive opportunities throughout the night but ultimately were not able to cash in. Royal’s fans will likely lament two of them for quite some time. In the bottom of the 5th inning with the Royals trailing 2-0, Royals outfielder MJ Melendez hit a deep fly ball to right field that fell a few feet short of the fence and would have likely been a home run had the wind not been blowing in from right field. In the bottom of the 7th inning with the Royals now trailing 3-1, Kyle Isbel also hit a deep fly ball to right field after Tommy Pham singled with his third hit of the night. The wind again seemed to be a factor on this deep fly ball as Yankees outfielder Juan Soto was able to make the catch with his back against the right field fence. If the game was played on a calm night, Isbel’s fly ball would have likely gone over the fence and tied the game.
The Royals pitching had another solid game in this series and was able to hold the dangerous New York offense to 3 runs on 8 hits. Royals starter Michael Wacha ran into trouble in the 1st inning. Wacha gave up a double and an RBI-single by Juan Soto to put the Royals in an early 1-0 hole. Wacha was able to settle down and work through the Yankees lineup for the next 4 innings until running into trouble again in the 5th inning.
After allowing a run with 2 outs in the 5th inning and with the heart of the Yankees order coming up, Royals manager Matt Quatraro brought in closer Lucas Erceg to face Juan Soto and stop the bleeding. Lucas Erceg was able to retire Soto and keep the score 2-0. Erceg would come back out for the 6th inning and was unable to keep New York from scoring again. Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge hit a double to the left center field gap and the hot-hitting Giancarlo Stanton hit a single to score Judge two batters later to push the Yankees lead to 3-0. 3 runs would be enough for the Yankees as the Royals were unable to score any more runs against the Yankees bullpen. Former Royals pitcher Luke Weaver came in and struck out three batters in the 9th inning to win the game for the Yankees and send them to the American League Championship Series.
The Royals ultimately fell short against the Yankees but still have a lot to be proud of this season. Kansas City lost 106 games during the 2023 season and was just the second team in MLB history to make the postseason the year after losing 100 or more games. With a young core of players and an owner who has shown a willingness to invest in the team, the Royals have a bright future ahead.