NEW YORK — The Yankees have made a habit of winning ugly. Five consecutive victories decided in their final at-bat. Two-run margins. Walk-off singles. Ninth-inning comebacks. A team that kept finding ways to win but never found an easy one.
Saturday, the Yankees were different.
Cody Bellinger crushed two home runs and drove in five. Will Warren struck out a career-high-tying 11 batters across seven innings. Four Yankees went deep. The Royals never had a chance. Final score: Yankees 13, Kansas City 4.
The Yankees improved to 12-9 and earned its fourth win in the last six games. Aaron Judge, who had played every single inning of every single game this season, sat out the final three innings. The Yankees simply did not need him.
The third inning that ended the Royals’ afternoon
Kansas City lefty Noah Cameron entered with a 0.43 ERA, one of the lowest marks in baseball. He gave up seven runs across four innings and did not survive past the fourth.
The Yankees damage started in the third. J.C. Escarra led off with a fly ball to right-center field. Royals outfielders Jac Caglianone and Kyle Isbel collided on the play and neither caught it. Escarra reached on the error. The inning was already tilting.
Amed Rosario followed with a home run. Bellinger then launched a two-run shot to the second deck. Ben Rice added another home run, his seventh of the season and his third in three straight games. Five runs. The Yankees had their win before Warren even needed to get serious.
Bellinger was not done. In the sixth inning, with the Yankees already up 8-0, he hit a second two-run homer, this time off Royals reliever Mitch Spencer. Final line for the Yankees center fielder: two homers, five RBI, four times on base.
Aaron Boone was asked afterward about Bellinger, who had managed just one home run through two months of spring and the first weeks of the season. The manager found the humor in how fast things changed.
“I was joking with him, he had one homer in two months since the start of spring and then two in an hour,” Boone said. “So it’s a funny game that way. But a lot of good swings from him and obviously up and down the lineup. And against a tough lefty, too, so good to see the bats break out like that.”
Bellinger, who punished left-handed pitching throughout last season, described the afternoon with the kind of straightforward satisfaction that came from a game that never required any heroics.
“Obviously, these games are more ideal,” Bellinger said. “We’ve had a lot of close ones recently, had a crazy series against the Angels. Will did a great job of doing what he does and for us to get a few runs on the board, that was big for us.”
Warren ties a career high and makes it look routine
Will Warren was the other story. The Yankees starter struck out 11 batters, tying a career high, while scattering three hits through his first six innings. The Royals did not score until Carter Jensen hit a two-run homer off him in the seventh. That was the only damage in seven innings of work.
The big early lead gave Warren room to work. He said so plainly when asked about pitching with a big Yankees cushion.
“It’s nice to go out there with the lead,” Warren said. “You’re not worried about giving up one or two.”
Rice extends his stretch, Escarra provides a surprise
Ben Rice’s homer was his seventh of the season and his third in three straight Yankees games. He has hit homers from both sides of the infield, against lefties and righties alike. Boone called it exactly what it looked like.
“He’s just continuing to solidify himself as one of the really outstanding hitters in the league,” Boone said. “We’re seeing that more and more, whatever hand you throw with.”
J.C. Escarra added an unexpected punch. The backup catcher entered Saturday hitting 1-for-15 on the season. He finished with three RBI on a double and a two-run triple in the seventh that pushed the lead to 12-2. Asked about a day that few saw coming, Escarra kept the explanation simple.
“It’s just being ready, taking lots of swings every single day when no one’s watching,” Escarra said. “It’s great to catch Will and get some knocks in and ultimately help the team win.”
Yankees veteran Amed Rosario also drove in three runs. The Yankees have now hit 15 home runs over their last six games after hitting only 14 in their first 15 games. Against a lefty starter the Yankees had been struggling against all season, everything finally lined up at once.
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