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It was a crisp October afternoon in Kansas City — the kind of day where postseason baseball seems to shimmer just a little brighter. The stakes were simple: win or go home. And on this day, the Royals, facing elimination, rose to the occasion.
Behind seven brilliant, scoreless innings from left-hander Rickey Doll, Kansas City kept their season alive, edging the mighty New York Yankees, 5–4, to force a decisive Game 5 in the Division Series.
Doll wasn’t overpowering — he didn’t need to be. He was composed, precise, and unflinching, navigating a Yankees lineup built on patience and power. Just three hits allowed, seven innings of calm in the storm.
For much of the day, the Bronx Bombers could do little but grind their teeth. Kansas City scratched out an early run, then added two more in the fifth, punctuated by a solo blast from Willy Obregón, whose postseason has been nothing short of remarkable. The Royals led 3–0, then 5-2, before New York’s bats — quiet all afternoon — finally stirred to life in the late innings.
A late rally, capped by clutch extra-base hits from S. Johnson and A. Rivera, made it close — too close for comfort — but it wasn’t enough. When M. Eldridge induced the final out, a roar erupted from the crowd of 53,838 at Kauffman Stadium.
And so, this improbable, back-and-forth series returns to Yankee Stadium — where one of these two storied franchises will see its season end, and the other will march on to the American League Championship Series.
For Kansas City, the story tonight is one of survival — of a pitcher who delivered when everything was on the line, and of a team that refused to let its season fade quietly into the autumn air.
Final score: Royals 5, Yankees 4. Game 5 awaits — in the Bronx, beneath the October lights.
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