Stanton get’s “Lucky” - Yankees Royals Game 3 Recap

Last night, I spent the entirety of my walk down 7th Ave with cheeks clenched, cringing at the thought of my beloved New York Yankees being eliminated by such an embarrassingly weak foe. This Royals team barely hits, walks 10 guys a night, and is seemingly triggered by the most benign piece of “bulletin board material” imaginable. It can’t happen. I won’t allow it and thankfully…Giancarlo Stanton wouldn’t allow it either.

While the Yanks hit several balls on the screws in the early innings, KC’s cornfield of a ballpark turned Yankee Stadium moonshots into lazy fly balls. In fairness, Clarke Schmidt was also a beneficiary of the park’s bounds as deep drives by Witt and permanent pest/creep - Yuli Gurriel, resulted in no significant damage early.

The game would remain tied after 3, thanks mainly due to a brutal missed call on a would-be RBI double by Gleyber Torres. I don’t know what’s worse, the moron standing 10 feet away that blew the call or the 18 jackasses who somehow imagined non-existent green pixels on their HD monitors.

The Yanks would eventually take their second 1-0 lead of the game in the 4th, when Giancarlo Stanton roped a ball into the gap to drive in Soto. Unfortunately, this is only what I believe to have happened - as the TBS broadcast continues to be directed by Michael Bay. I guess I should be grateful that they cut their live feed of George Brett scratching his balls to show the baseball game - but it would still be appreciated if we were able to witness runs being scored in a playoff game. Sincerely, America.

A Soto sacrifice fly would give the Yanks a 2-0 lead headed into the bottom of the fifth. While Clarke Schmidt delivered the best starting pitching performance for the Yanks this series (pretty much by default) - he unfortunately could not get through 5 innings. A 2 out rally that consisted of Volpe, Verdugo, and Soto going 0 for 3 on admittedly difficult plays resulted the pesky Royals tying the game at 2.

We were then graced with our first glimpse of Patrick Mahomes’ Brittany-like antics in his (1%) owner’s box. I wish his buddy socked him right in the fucking face, but I also admire the constraint - given this would’ve somehow cost the Giants 15 yards Sunday Night.

The Yankee bullpen continued to dazzle as they kept the game knotted at 2 while their offense unsuccessfully tried to walk themselves into a rally. It was at that point that Big G dealt what would prove to be the deciding blow.

Giancarlo has been the target of a ton of valid criticism throughout his New York tenure. He can’t move, he can’t play the field, he strikes out a ton, and most importantly - he can’t stay healthy. Cashman flat out said that injuries and IL stints “seem to be a part of his game now” and while this remains equally as frustrating as it is true - the guy is one of the only consistent playoff performers we’ve had over the past several seasons.

On a night where the vaunted Bronx Bombers managed just 4 hits, Stanton had 3 while driving in 2 of the team’s 3 runs. So next time some deli owner wants Trent Grisham in the lineup over a guy who still possesses game-wrecking power, tell him him to put the sandwich in the fucking bag.

While its fairly concerning that the Yankees haven’t played anywhere near a championship level, it is comforting to know that our C-Game is enough to get dubs against this KC squad. If we get literally anything out of Judge and Cole, game 4 shouldn’t be a contest. We’ve knocked off the rust, gotten our feet wet, its time to blow this team out and move on.

Close it out tonight. Go Yanks.