Yankees 8, Royals 1: Taillon strong as offense has big day against Kansas City

In what’s been a disappointing season so far, there haven’t been too many super impressive wins by the Yankees. Back when the starting pitching was on fire, the Yankees would win, but they seemed to always be low-scoring, 2-0ish victories. In games when the offense has been good, the pitching has often kept games closer than they otherwise would be.

The series-clinching win over the Royals on Thursday afternoon was most definitely a complete win.

On the pitching side, Jameson Taillon put in one of his best outings as a Yankee. He went 6.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out six. It’s tied for his longest outing of the year, and the fourth where he’s allowed one or zero runs.

As for the offense, the heart of the lineup was especially on fire. Aaron Judge reached base five times, including a first-inning home run that set the tone for the day. Gary Sánchez recorded two hits and three RBI, thanks to a key three-run blast in the sixth inning. Giancarlo Stanton didn’t have any particularly important hits, but he did finish with three on the day. In total, the Yankees put up 13 hits on the day and went 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

It was an impressive all-around display as the Yankees wrapped up their three-game set against the Royals with an 8-1 win.

After going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts on Wednesday, Judge quickly turned his series around to start this game. He homered in his first at bat of the day to kick off the scoring:

Sánchez followed by continuing his hot streak with a single, and Stanton added one as well. After a flyout moved Sánchez to third, Rougned Odor beat out a slow roller to first, bringing home another run.

Judge did more damage in the second as the Yankees added to their lead. With Tyler Wade and DJ LeMahieu both on after walks, the likely All-Star singled home Wade to increase the lead. Naturally because this was 2021, a chance at even more was ruined by a double play, though they did add another run an inning later when Luke Voit belted a solo shot to make it 4-0.

Taillon did a good job at stranding any runners in the first couple innings, but the Royals eventually got to him in the fifth. After Nicky Lopez singled to lead off the inning, Sebastian Rivero doubled him home to get Kansas City on the board. Taillon then flirted with danger with a walk to Whit Merrifield to bring the tying run to the plate. However, he got a flyout and Salvador Pérez lined one straight at Odor, who completed an unassisted double play to end the threat.

After surviving that brief scare, the Yankees went on to tack on some insurance runs in the sixth. LeMahieu singled to start the inning, and moved to third as Judge doubled for his third hit of the day. Sánchez then delivered once again, homering to put the Yankees up six.

Taillon came back out for the seventh and got one out before walking Lopez. That would be the end of his day as Aaron Boone decided to bring in Nestor Cortes, who got two quick outs to end the inning.

The Yankees tacked on one final run in the eighth when Stanton completed a three-hit day of his own, singling home Judge to make it 8-1. Cortes closed it out in the ninth to complete a scoreless outing of 2.2 innings, and the Yankees locked down the series victory.

The win gives the Yankees some good vibes ahead of their trip to Boston this weekend. Hopefully, this time they keep them going, because the last showdown against the Red Sox was not fun.

Box Score