Yankees unload on Royals as every starter records multiple hits

The Yankees dismantled the Royals 15-1 to clinch the series. Cam Schlittler took the mound for the Yankees and faced off against the Royals’ opener Bailey Falter. 

“Just obviously a really good night for the guys,” Aaron Boone said. 

Cody Bellinger kicked off the scoring with a solo shot with two outs in the top of the first inning, his second home run in as many days. Paul Goldschmidt then laced a double to left, then Ben Rice drove in Goldy with an RBI single, which was ruled a catch originally but overturned after review. Amed Rosario followed with a no doubt two-run bomb to left, making it 4-0 before Schlittler even threw a pitch. 

In the bottom of the first inning, Schlittler navigated around a two-out base knock, working a scoreless frame with some help from a great play by Anthony Volpe for the third out. 

Volpe then extended the Yankees' lead to 5-0 with a solo bomb in the top of the second, his first home run of the year. 

“I'm just trying to get pitches I can drive and handle and put a good swing on it,” Volpe said. “We've obviously been working a lot. So that's all I could do.”

The Yankees tacked on four more runs in the third inning. Volpe grounded an RBI single through the left side of the infield. Trent Grisham then grounded out with the bases loaded to bring across a run, and Belli brought home two more with a two-run single to right field. 

Bobby Witt Jr. got the Royals on the board in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to right, making it 9-1, just the third home run Shclittler has allowed this year. 

Jazz Chisholm Jr. led off the fifth inning with a walk, Grisham singled with two outs, putting two aboard for Aaron Judge. Judge just missed a three-run bomb but trotted into second with an RBI double to make it 10-1. 

Schlittler allowed a leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth but picked up his fifth strikeout of the ballgame to help strand that runner. 

In the top of the seventh inning, Grisham crushed a solo shot to right, his third hit of the night, to put the Yankees up 10 runs. 

Ryan Yarbrough replaced Schlittler in the bottom of the seventh and worked a scoreless frame, working around a walk. 

Final line for Schlittler: Six innings pitched, four hits allowed, one earned run, didn't walk anybody, striking out six on 77 pitches. He threw his fastball 39% of the time, the sinker 26%, the cutter 23%, the curveball 9%, and the slider 3%. Schlittler topped out at 98.5 mph, averaging 97 on his heater and had six swings and misses.  

“Not the best, stuff wasn't as sharp,” Schlittler said. “But again, I was able to put the team in a position to win. That's all you can ask for.”

Jazz led off the eighth inning with a solo homer, his sixth of the season, giving everyone in the Yankees lineup a hit. Volpe followed with a bullet double in the right-center gap, his third knock of the ballgame. Austin Wells followed with an RBI single, making it a 13-1 ballgame. 

Yarbrough came back out for the bottom of the eighth and worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 inning. 

Against a position played in the top of the ninth, Rice was able to draw a walk. Rosario followed with a two-run bomb, his second homer of the night, to extend the Yankees' lead to 15-1. Jazz then singled to right, marking the first time in Yankees history that all nine starters had multiple hits. 

Yarbrough remained in the game for the bottom of the ninth inning and picked up the final three outs, and with him picking up the final nine outs of the ballgame, he was credited with the save. 

The Yankees will look to complete the sweep tomorrow with Gerrit Cole on the mound, facing off against Noah Cameron. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

My thoughts on the game: What a night for the Yankees' offense! 24 total hits tonight, six home runs, and 15 runs. Every single starter for the Yankees had multiple hits for the first time in franchise history. Grisham had three hits tonight, including a homer he is now up to a .704 OPS and a 104 wRC+. Volpe had three hits with a pair of RBIs and a home run. He now has more home runs than Fernando Tatis Jr., lol.  Volpe is now hitting .281 with an .894 OPS; he is forcing the Yankees' hand to put him in the starting lineup, as he has looked so much better since being called back up. Jazz had three hits tonight and went deep. He is now up to a .724 OPS with a 110 wRC+, and he is quickly turning around his season. Just 44 more homers until he reaches 50/50, lol. Rosario had four hits, four RBIs, and a pair of bombs. He is now hitting .279 with an .863 OPS. With the Yankees facing the left-hander Cameron tomorrow, I am curious to see if they will have José Caballero, Volpe, and Rosario all in the starting lineup. I am not sure if they would put Volpe at second, yet they would probably most likely put Cabby or Rosario in the outfield and the other at third base. Schlittler dominated with six innings of one-run baseball; he could definitely have gone deeper, but with the Yankees blowing out the Royals, they were smart with him and pulled him early. Schlittler has now allowed just 12 runs on the season in his first 12 starts. Yarbrough did his job as the mop-up guy, saving the rest of the bullpen with three shutout innings. Also, the Rays lost again, so the Yankees are now just 2.5 games back in the AL East. On to tomorrow, I can't wait to watch Cole pitch again.