In their past five wins, the New York Yankees experienced jubilation in their dugout during their final at-bat.
The Yankees hope to experience more good feelings but secure a win even earlier when they host the Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon.
New York is 4-8 over its past 12 games after winning seven of its first eight. The last of the victories in the hot start was a 9-7 decision over the Miami Marlins on April 4, a contest decided on a two-run single by Giancarlo Stanton in the eighth inning.
The Yankees also scored four times in the eighth on April 7 to beat the A’s on Amed Rosario’s three-run homer. New York then lost five straight before splitting a four-game series this week against the Los Angeles Angels, where both wins were walk-offs.
In the series opener against Kansas City on Friday, New York earned a 4-2 victory thanks to Ryan McMahon coming through with his biggest hit of the season. After spending most of the game taking swings in the batting cage, McMahon entered on defense at third base for Rosario after the seventh and delivered a tiebreaking two-run homer with two outs in the eighth against Alex Lange.
“You get excited for people,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It was a huge, huge at-bat obviously. I think he was hitting for about the whole game down underneath, so obviously ready for it. Put a good swing on it on a crazy night.”
The homer was McMahon’s sixth hit in 43 at-bats (.140) this season — and the previous five hits were singles.
McMahon, a left-handed batter, may come off the bench again in the next two games since the Yankees are opposing lefties Noah Cameron and Cole Ragans. Rosario, a right-handed hitter, is a career .297 batter off left-handed pitching, though he is 3-for-14 (.214) this season off southpaws.
The Royals are coming off another close defeat. They have dropped five straight and are 2-8 in their past 10 games.
Following the two-run homer allowed by Lange, they own a 6.08 ERA bullpen ERA, second worst in the majors.
“I feel like when you fall behind guys, bad things happen,” Lange said. “Those hitters are really good. It (stinks) going out there and blowing a game. You feel like you let the boys down and they’ve been battling their ass off all year.”
Vinnie Pasquantino drove in both Kansas City runs and hit a tying homer in the eighth before McMahon went deep in the bottom half. Bobby Witt Jr. went hitless in four at-bats and is 5-for-23 (.217) in his past six games.
Will Warren, coming off his shortest start this season, will start for the Yankees on Saturday. Warren (1-0, 2.45 ERA) allowed four runs, all unearned, on three hits in 3 2/3 innings and took a no-decision on Monday when the Yankees earned an 11-10 victory over the Angels.
The right-hander’s only career start against the Royals was a no-decision in New York’s 1-0 victory at Kansas City last June 12. In that outing, Warren allowed four hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Cameron (1-0, 3.94 ERA) allowed one run in each of his first two starts this year before he was tagged for five runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings during a no-decision on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox. He struck out four and walked two.
Cameron yielded six runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings during a 10-2 loss at Kansas City last June 10 in his only career start against the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
