Royals Edge Yankees with Dramatic Finish
Maikel Garcia delivered a walk-off two-run double off Yankees closer Clay Holmes, lifting the Kansas City Royals to a thrilling 4-3 victory over New York. The win allowed the Royals to avoid a four-game sweep and snap their four-game losing streak.
Marsh's Stellar Outing
Rookie pitcher Alec Marsh was the standout performer for Kansas City, carrying a no-hit bid into the seventh inning. Marsh allowed just a leadoff single to Juan Soto in the seventh and then retired the next three batters to complete his 96-pitch outing.
"I thought we had a good game plan going in," Marsh said. "Me and [catcher Freddy Fermin] were on the same page all day. I just felt comfortable out there."
Yankees manager Aaron Boone also praised Marsh's performance: "I thought he did a good job, like Nestor, of mixing things up to give us seven strong innings."
Marsh was supported by his defense and timely hitting. Nestor Cortes, the Yankees pitcher, put in a solid performance as well, allowing two runs over seven innings and lowering his road ERA to 5.57 from 6.17.
Yankees' Late Surge
The Yankees, who had dominated the first three games of the series, mounted a comeback against Royals reliever John Schreiber in the eighth inning. Anthony Rizzo brought New York within one run with a homer. A critical error by second baseman Garrett Hampson then set the stage for Anthony Volpe's RBI grounder, giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead after Angel Zerpa surrendered an RBI single to Soto.
However, the Royals remained resilient. Drew Waters hit an infield single in the ninth inning against Holmes. Following a fielder's choice, Kyle Isbel singled to bring up Garcia. Garcia then delivered a liner down the left-field line, scoring MJ Melendez and Isbel, and securing the win for Kansas City.
James McArthur pitched a scoreless ninth inning to seal the victory for the Royals, who currently hold second place in the AL Central.
Quatraro's Ejection
Royals manager Matt Quatraro was ejected for arguing obstruction by Gleyber Torres. Despite his ejection, Quatraro expressed pride in his team's performance.
"I couldn't be more proud of those guys," said Quatraro. "You're down. That's a really good club with an elite closer coming in. The way they hustle, the way they never quit, it's inspiring for me to come to work every day to be around these guys."
Marsh humorously added, "Quatraro told me he didn't even know I had a no-hitter going. I responded, 'Don't get tossed next time.’"
Key Performances and Streaks
Besides Marsh's impressive outing, other notable performances included Bobby Witt Jr., who extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a single in the fourth inning. Witt later scored on Vinnie Pasquantino's two-run double. Nestor Cortes, while disappointed with the loss, had a commendable outing and managed to improve his statistics on the road.
"I thought Nestor was good," commented Yankees manager Aaron Boone. "It was a good pitchers' duel. His fastball was playing up. He was at 90, 91, 92, but it had something on it. He had a presence on both sides."
The Royals will look to build on this hard-fought victory as they continue their season, while the Yankees need to regroup and address the issues that led to their late-inning collapse.
The performance showed the potential for young players like Marsh to make significant impacts and highlighted the never-say-die attitude of a Kansas City team eager to climb the AL Central standings.