The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals in ALDS Game 3 on Wednesday night by a 3-2 final. The Yankees, in turn, have now secured a 2-1 advantage in their best-of-five series. The Yankees can punch their ticket to the AL Championship Series with a victory on Thursday night in Game 4 -- the Royals, meanwhile, can force a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday. On the other side of the bracket, the Tigers also took a 2-1 lead over the Guardians and will similarly look to clinch Thursday.
Here are three things to know about the Yankees-Royals Game 3 and a look ahead to Game 4.
1. Stanton goes off
Yankees DH Giancarlo Stanton has quietly been an accomplished postseason hitter throughout his career. He entered Wednesday having batted .250/.319/.596 with 11 home runs and 25 runs batted in over his first 29 postseason games. He added to those marks in Game 3 by notching three hits, including a run-scoring double and the go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth inning. Take a look:
Stanton became the first Yankees player to hit a go-ahead run in the eighth inning or later of a postseason game since Raul Ibanez did it in the 2012 ALDS, according to MLB's Bryan Hoch.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of Stanton's night occurred after the single, when he stole his first base in nearly 500 games. That's not an exaggeration: Stanton had not swiped a bag since August 3, 2020, against the Philadelphia Phillies. That was 498 games ago, regular season and postseason, according to CBS Sports HQ's research staff.
In other words, Stanton did it all on Wednesday.
2. Judge's struggles continue
Whereas Stanton went off on Wednesday, fellow slugger Aaron Judge continued his prolonged postseason slump.
Judge went 0 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout, the K coming on a questionable check-swing ruling. Nevertheless, Judge will now enter Thursday with the highest strikeout percentage in postseason play history (minimum 210 plate appearances) at 33.4%, again according to CBS Sports HQ's research staff.
Judge's struggles date back multiple postseasons. In fact, he's now 7 for his last 51 with two home runs and three runs batted in since October 2021.
3. Both bullpens do work
Managers Aaron Boone and Matt Quatraro took advantage of Tuesday's day off by leveraging their relief corps in an aggressive manner on Wednesday.
Boone lifted starter Clarke Schmidt with two outs in the fifth inning, turning to a combination of three relievers: Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, and Luke Weaver. They cumulatively surrendered no runs on two hits and a walk. They recorded just one strikeout, but the Yankees will take the topline result all the same.
Quatraro allowed Seth Lugo to complete five innings of work. He then trotted out six different relievers over ensuing four innings. That parade included Angel Zerpa, John Schreiber, Sam Long, Brady Singer, Kris Bubic, and Michael Lorenzen. All together, they allowed one run on two hits and four walks. They punched out three.
Of all those relievers used, only Bubic threw more than 20 pitches. (He tossed 26.) As such, Boone and Quatraro should be able to turn to their bullpen as needed in Game 4.
4. Series continues on Thursday
The Yankees and Royals will meet again at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday night for Game 4. With a win, the Yankees will advance to the American League Championship Series. They'll take on the winner of the Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians ALDS. As it stands, the Tigers will enter Thursday with a 2-1 advantage of their own.
A Royals win, meanwhile, would force a Game 5 on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.