Aaron Boone is extremely proud of his guys.
Gerrit Cole delivered an outstanding pitching performance on Thursday night, leading Aaron Boone’s Yankees to a 3-1 victory over the host Royals in Game 4 of the AL Division Series.
The Bronx Bombers knocked out Kansas City, winning the series three games to one, which advanced them to their first League Championship Series since being swept by the Astros in 2022. This marks their fourth ALCS appearance in the last eight seasons and their 19th overall.
Aaron Boone proud of the New York Yankees
“I’m really proud. I thought we played really good baseball this series,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
“All the games were tight and close. Credit to Kansas City, they pitched us really tough, they played us really tough. All these games were nailbiters. Proud of these guys. We get to go play for it now and we’re excited about that.”
When asked about what made Gerrit Cole efficient and effective tonight, Boone quickly responded with, “Fastball. I thought his fastball though from jump was really good. Later on, he started to incorporate some good mixtures with the breaking ball. I thought he had a good cutter going on tonight. But it started with the fastball that I thought was really good.”
The six-time All-Star allowed just six hits and recorded four strikeouts before passing the ball to the New York bullpen, which excelled throughout a nail-biting AL Division Series.
Clay Holmes pitched a flawless eighth inning, and Luke Weaver smoothly navigated the ninth, extending the Yankees relievers’ scoreless streak to 15 2/3 innings in this postseason.
All-around effort for the Yankees
Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres, and Game 3 standout Giancarlo Stanton each contributed runs for the Yankees, who appropriately secured their fourth ALCS berth in eight years while playing on the road. During the regular season, they achieved 50 victories away from home, marking their highest total in 21 years.
Michael Wacha struggled to complete five innings for the Royals, giving up two runs, six hits, and a walk. He received little support from an offense that had been struggling, managing only five runs in total over the last three games of the series.
The Yankees established dominance early, attacking Wacha as they did in the series opener. Torres drove the veteran right-hander’s very first pitch of the game for a double, and Soto quickly added an RBI single on only the third pitch of the night.
Anthony Volpe kept the momentum going with a single in the fifth inning. Following Alex Verdugo’s forceout and Jon Berti’s single that put runners on the corners, Torres hit a two-out single, boosting the lead to 2-0 and concluding Wacha’s night.
Stanton, who delivered the go-ahead home run in the eighth inning of Game 3, increased the lead to 3-0 with his single in the sixth inning.
Near scuffle at the sixth inning against the Royals
Tensions that had been escalating all night between the Yankees and the Royals —and throughout the series following New York’s third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s remark that the Royals’ Game 2 victory was “lucky”—finally erupted in the sixth inning.
The near-altercation almost sparked a rally for Kansas City as well. Bobby Witt Jr., who had struggled with just one hit in 15 at-bats during the series, responded with a base hit, and Vinnie Pasquantino, who was hitless in 14 at-bats, followed with an RBI double.
However, with the sellout crowd of 39,012 at Kauffman Stadium suddenly energized, Cole managed to get Salvador Perez to pop out weakly to second base, ending the inning.
Kansas City failed to secure a home win after September 8, enduring a nine-game losing streak, including the playoffs.
Nevertheless, this season marked an impressive turnaround for a team that suffered 106 losses last year, making its first postseason appearance since clinching the 2015 World Series. With young talents like Bobby Witt Jr. locked into long-term contracts, there’s optimism in Kansas City that this represents a new beginning rather than a conclusion.
New York is set to face either the Cleveland Guardians or Detroit Tigers in the ALCS, with the series beginning Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
