Royals Fall Short in Game Three as Yanks Complete The Sweep.

Record: 8-11

W: Mark Leiter Jr. (2-1, 3.52 ERA)

L: John Schreiber (1-1, 3.86 ERA)

S: Frenando Cruz (0-0, 2.79 ERA)

Key Highlights

The Royals put together their best effort of the series but fell short thanks to a seventh-inning blast from Aaron Judge. Schreiber entered the game after 5.1 innings of Kris Bubic, getting through the end of the sixth without any trouble. Entering the seventh, John Schreiber was tasked with facing the heart of the Yankees’ lineup. Without any hesitation, reigning MVP Aaron Judge blasted a solo home run to give the Yankees the lead, 4-3. 

The story of the game before this pivotal moment was the Royals’ offense supporting Bubic better than any other starter in the series. Tied 3-3 entering the seventh, the Royals had battled to tie the game in the fifth. Drew Waters singled and scored on a Kyle Isbel triple just one batter later. Isbel then scored the tying run on a sharp groundout from Jonathan India. It was perhaps the best situational hitting we’ve seen from the Royals this road trip. 

Bubic himself wasn’t as sharp as he had been through his first three starts. He managed to get through 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and four walks. Even with six strikeouts, Bubic failed to log a quality start for the first time this season. Thankfully for him, the offense managed to tie the game before he exited, saving him from his first loss. This outing pushes his ERA to an awful 1.88 on the season.

The heroes for the Yankees included the usual suspect, Aaron Judge, alongside acquisitions Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm. The unlikely name in all of this was Anthony Volpe, who knocked in two runs on a double to left in the bottom of the third. Volpe, batting just .219 on the season, has seen a power surge alongside the development of the torpedo bat. Sure, he had shown flashes, but his four home runs in 18 games put him on pace for 35 home runs this season. 14 more home runs than he swatted in his 2023 rookie campaign. (He also clearly still needs to work on how he tags would-be base stealers….)

Next Game:

The Royals head to Detroit for a four-game series against the Tigers. Michael Lorenzen and Reece Olsen are set to square off on the mound in the opening match-up. Olsen is off to a slow start over his first three starts, while Lorenzen has been as expected from most Royals fans.

Of note, the Tigers are off to a hot start as an offense. Spencer Torkelson brings a .988 OPS into the series after sitting incredibly close to bust status after the last few seasons. His six home runs are tied for third in the league, and a couple of days ago was tied for first. Alongside him are Kerry Carpenter (.871 OPS) and Gleyber Torres (.841 OPS), leading the offense. The Tigers currently sit in first place in the AL Central and are 10-6 on the season. 

It will be a tough series for the Royals to try and generate some momentum after starting the road trip 1-5. A good few wins here, or even a split series, would go a long way toward their early outlook. There’s plenty to be excited about with Ragans, Lugo, and Wacha due up as the starters in the final three games. The key focus will be whether the bats begin to turn the corner here. If not, it will be the next home stand and a much-needed day off that may spark some offense.