Clarke Schmidt allowed two hits and struck out seven over six scoreless innings and Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run single highlighted a five-run second inning as the New York Yankees won 6-3 over the host Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Aaron Judge homered for the fourth time in three games for New York, which posted a 10-2 series-opening victory Tuesday and has won all five 2025 meetings with Kansas City. Schmidt (3-3) bested the Royals’ Kris Bubic (5-4), who entered with a major-league-leading 1.43 ERA.
Schmidt issued three walks but allowed just a pair of singles, one to Jonathan India and the other to Maikel Garcia, who was thrown out trying to stretch his into a double in the fourth inning.
Bubic allowed a season-high five runs, all in the second inning, on six hits and four walks over 4 1/3 innings. He fanned three. Salvador Perez clubbed a two-run, ninth-inning homer for Kansas City, which is 10-18 since starting 24-16.
Bubic struck out two while retiring the side in order in the first, but the Yankees broke out an inning later.
Cody Bellinger began the frame with a triple to right-center field. After Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked, Bellinger scored on Anthony Volpe’s fielder’s-choice grounder.
With two outs and two on, Austin Wells, who had five RBIs Tuesday, roped an RBI double to right-center. Goldschmidt followed with his two-run single, and Ben Rice added his own run-scoring single off Bubic, who threw 41 pitches in the frame.
Bubic’s night ended with a man on and one out in the fifth. The Yankees loaded the bases later in the inning, but third baseman Garcia began a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play from his backside after fielding a smash from DJ LeMahieu.
Judge, batting .394, stayed hot by driving Steven Cruz’s pitch well over the right-center-field wall in the seventh.
After Perez’s two-run homer in the ninth, Kansas City got another run when John Rave produced an infield hit that led to a throwing error by Mark Leiter Jr. Nick Loftin came around from first on the play, cutting the deficit to three.
That prompted the Yankees to summon Devin Williams, who retired both batters he faced for his eighth save.
Chisholm exited in the fifth inning due to left groin tightness.
–Field Level Media
