McMahon’s late blast lifts Yankees past Royals in series opener

The Yankees took down the Royals 4-2 to take the first game of this three-game set. Cam Schlittler got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against Michael Wacha.

Schlitter worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 top of the first inning on just 12 pitches with his first strikeout of the ballgame. 

Aaron Judge lined a one-out double into the left field corner in the bottom of the first, but Cody Bellinger struck out, and Giancarlo Stanton popped out to strand Judge at second. 

In the top of the fourth, Schlittler navigated around a two-out base knock thanks to his fourth punchout of the ballgame. 

Belli dunked a leadoff bloop single in the center in the bottom half of the inning. A few batters later, Ben Rice crushed a two-run bomb into the short porch in right, his sixth of the year, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgMVRYoCg1M

José Caballero led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk, then moved up to second on a groundout from Trent Grisham, before he swiped third. Judge drew a walk, then stole second. However, Belli flew out to shallow center to strand two runners in scoring position. 

Schlittler walked Maikel Garcia with one out in the top of the sixth. It then looked like Bobby Witt Jr. flew out to center, but a ball kicked off Graham's glove for an E8. Vinnie Pasquantino cut the Yankees' lead to one run with an RBI groundout and moved the tying run up to third. Schlittler got Salvador Perez to chase a high fastball for strike three to keep the lead intact. 

Schlittler remained in the game for the seventh and walked a batter and allowed a single to put two aboard with nobody out. Brent Headrick replaced Schlittler and picked up three huge outs to strand the tying run 90 feet away. 

Final line for Schlittler: Six plus innings pitched, surrendering three hits, one run, none earned, walked two, and struck out six on 93 pitches to lower his ERA to 1.95. Schlittler threw his fastball 43% of the time, the cutter 26%, the sinker 16%, the curveball 12%, and the slider 3%. He topped out at 99.8 and averaged 97.7 mph with 16 swings and misses. 

“I'm still building up. Most pitches I've thrown,” Schlittler said. “Just trying to get used to the environment, but overall feel pretty good.”

“He's been awesome, he's been going after guys just doing his thing, and it's been really fun to watch,” McMahon said of Schlittler. 

Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells both drew walks in the bottom of the seventh, but Grisham lined out sharply to right, and Judge grounded out to third to strand both runners. 

Camilo Doval took over for Headrick in the top half of the eighth and quickly picked up the first two outs, then served up a game-tying home run to Vinnie Pasquantino. 

Rice lined a two-out single to right-center in the bottom half of the frame. The next batter, Ryan McMahon, who took over for Amed Rosario on defense, sent a go-ahead two-run homer the other way, his first of the year, giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRRYd1NOqKA

“Just tried to get a good pitch, put a good swing on it, and yeah, glad to help out,” McMahon said. 

Yankees closer David Bednar got the call for the top of the ninth and navigated around a leadoff walk, picking up the final three outs to record the save and give the Yankees the 4-2 win. 

The Yankees will look to win the series tomorrow afternoon with Will Warren on the mound, facing off against Noah Cameron. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

My thoughts on the game: Schlittler was awesome tonight; he could have gone seven shutout innings if not for Grisham's error. Headrick was awesome tonight, getting out of a huge jam with runners on first and second, nobody out in the seventh inning. Doval has to be better; he has too good of stuff to be as bad as he has been this year, now with a 7.56 ERA. Bednar did his job. Rice continues to hit with a pair of knocks and another homer. And just as we all predicted, McMahon was the hero tonight off the bench. The 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner, Gerrit Cole, made his first rehab start tonight, throwing 4.1 innings, surrendering three hits, three runs, walking one, and striking out three on 44 pitches. I can't wait for him to be back. On to tomorrow as the Yankees have a chance to win the series. 

“He's gonna be in the fire and the good thing is he has all the equipment and stuff to get it done when he walks out there on the mound,” Aaron Boone said of Doval. “If he can get that last layer of consistency - the stuff, the way he's throwing, he's there.”