The Yankees shut out the Rays in back-to-back games to cruise into a Divisional Series match up against the Royals. This will be the first match up between the teams in the post season since the 2032 American League Championship, the Royals sweeping that series 4-0.
The remaining wild card series saw a sweep for the Avalanche to set up a Houston series, and game three wins for the Dodgers, who will take on their NL West foes the Padres, and the Cardinals, who will take on the Marlins.
The Royals will enter the series as strong favourites but, despite taking the regular season series 4-2, the Yankees are running hot after 6-0, 7-0 wild card series victories.
They only ranked 9th and 5th in runs scored and against respectively in the regular season so are very much a team greater than the sum of its parts.
The hitters are led by 1B Jesus Sandoval, a 2037 3rd round pick who led the team in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. 2B Juan Jaramillo is also a threat, having hit 38 HRs while stealing 20 bases while former Royal LF Jamie Edwards will bring some familiarity for the Royals. Future Hall of Famer 2B Grady Emerson will miss the series, a fractured thumb ruling him out for another 4 weeks.
The pitching is headlined by Andy Pennington, a 3.17 ERA with 17 wins and 229 strikes showcasing his ace ability. The bullpen is another strength with 5-time Reliever of the Year Pat Black closing out games (AL-leading 50 saves with a 1.57 ERA), often after setup man Frank Miranda (2046 trade acquisition from Seattle) has held the fort. Another former Royal, Doug Campos (2.66) is one of two further Yankees with an ERA under three in the bullpen, Sergio Carrasco (2.21) rounding out the quartet
Game 1 in Kansas City: Chris Kuehn vs Andy Pennington (2045 Free Agent)
New York wins 4-1
• Pennington (W): 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R
• Kuehn (L): 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R
• Pat Black (SV): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
• New York HRs: Mike Kimmerle (7th, 2R)
• Kansas City HRs: Estanislau Covete (6th)
• New York
Game 2 in Kansas City: Ben Lane vs Mike Asbury (2046 Trade NYM)
• Kansas City wins 3-1
• Lane (W): 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R
• Asbury (L): 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R
• Luis Danys Rhodes (SV): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
• 1-1 Series Tied
Game 3 in New York: Cason Willard vs Jimmy Mayo (2038 5th Round)
• Kansas City wins 5-0
• Willard (W): 6.0 IP, 6 Y, 0 R
• Mayo (L): 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R
• Rhodes (SV): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R
• Kansas City HRs: Covete (5th; 9th, 2R), Tezeno (7th)
• POTG: Covete (KC) 2-3, BB, 2 HR, 3 RBI
• 2-1 Kansas City
Game 4 in New York: Ethan Chafin vs Jamie Lieggi (2046 Trade TEX)
• Kansas City wins 7-2
• Chafin (W): 7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R
• Lieggi (L): 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R
• Kansas City HRs: Juan Minnelli (1st, 2R), Bobby Nickelberry (1st), Juan Corujo (5th), Luis Montoya (9th)
• 3-1 KANSAS CITY WINS
Series MVP: Estanislau Covete (KC) 5-13, 3 HR, 5 RBI