The New York Yankees have won the final of the series against the Kansas City Royals 6:3. Aaron Hicks provided the necessary offense, newcomer J.A. Happ pitched a clean game for the Bronx Bombers, who also won the series (3-1).
The Yankees set the course for victory early on. In the first inning Aaron Hicks managed a 2-Run-Homerun. In the fourth inning Miguel Andujar increased to 3-0 with an RBI single, and in the decisive fifth inning the Yankees scored two rather unusual runs before Giancarlo Stanton scored the sixth run for New York with a Sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
The Royals fought back and beat a solo Homun in each of the six to eight innings. However, they were no longer within striking distance, especially as Closer Aroldis Chapman confidently slammed the door in the ninth inning.
The game was decided within the first five innings. The difference was clearly the performance of the Starting Pitcher. While Happ played for the Yankees and didn’t show the nervousness of his debut in Pinstripes, Smith had to put up with an early delay. Subsequently, he was under constant pressure.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Yankees had loaded bases with an out after Hicks’ walk. Gleyber Torres then hit a ground ball to Second Baseman Whit Merrifield. He seemed to spot Hicks with the glove, then threw him to the first base for double play at the end of the inning. But a Yankee challenge revealed Merriffield didn’t catch Hicks. The result: Brett Gardner scored the 4-0 run and the inning continued. After that, Greg Bird raised the score to 5:0 with an RBI infield single.
The Center Fielder was unstoppable. With his 2-run Homun in the first inning, he ensured the early leadership of the hosts and did not let up afterwards either. He was 3-3 (2 R, BB) and at the end he only needed one triple to the cycle. Strong performance!
Smith made his fourth start of the season and it was also his worst. In 4+ innings he made five runs on 5 hits (3 BB) and had little means against the Yankees. His defense undoubtedly did not do the best job, but Smith was also too seldom able to prevent Base Runner. All in all, he probably showed the weakest performance of all KC pitchers this weekend.
This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.