Baseball can be a cruel game. And sometimes, one mistake can be the difference on a given night.
The Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees were reminded of that Friday evening. And the Yankees came away with a 4-2 victory at Yankee Stadium.
The Royals, on the other hand, wound up on the short end, again. Vinnie Pasquantino hit a solo homer to tie the game 2-2 in the eighth inning, but the Yankees (11-9) came back to win it at home.
It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Royals (7-13).
Ryan McMahon, a defensive replacement, hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Royals reliever Alex Lange in the bottom of the eighth.
Lange threw a changeup that caught too much of the plate. McMahon got just enough of the pitch, as the baseball landed in the first row beyond the left-field wall.
“I feel like when you fall behind guys, bad things happen,” Lange said. “These hitters in this league are really good. It sucks … going out there and blowing a game. You feel like you let the boys down and they’ve been battling … all year.”
Here’s how we got here:
Royals starter Michael Wacha looked dominant for stretches. He had five strikeouts through four innings and kept the high-powered Yankees offense off the scoreboard for a while.
The Royals right-hander struck out Yankees star Aaron Judge with a 95.3 mph sinker in the third inning. Wacha later retired Giancarlo Stanton with the same pitch.
Wacha was in control. He entered with a 0.43 earned run average — which ranked second in Major League Baseball.
Yet, he made one critical error in the game. With a man aboard, Yankees first baseman Ben Rice hit a two-run homer over the right-field wall.
New York’s Ben Rice celebrates his two-run home against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium on April 17, 2026 in New York City.
Rice crushed an 80 mph changeup left hanging at the bottom of the strike zone. Royals catcher Salvador Perez knew it immediately, too. The homer traveled 364 feet and gave the Yankees a two-run advantage.
“The height on it was good,” Wacha said. “Just kind of more middle down. Yeah, would’ve liked it to fade away a little bit more to that corner, for sure.”
The Royals pressed forward. Wacha navigated the fifth inning by stranding runners on first and third base. Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger flew out to end the threat and keep the deficit manageable.
Wacha recorded a quality start in the loss. He allowed three hits, two runs and three walks and recorded six strikeouts in his six innings of work.
“He’s difficult against any lineup,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Wacha. “I mean, you saw him get swing and miss on fastballs up. He had a good slider and probably the best curveball I’ve seen him have. Not just using it as a get me over. Yeah, I mean, he was outstanding.”
As Wacha dealt with his mistake, the Yankees found a way to deal with their own.
In the sixth inning, Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham dropped a fly ball off the bat of Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. Grisham was charged with a two-base error as Witt and Maikel Garcia — who had walked earlier in the inning — represented the tying runs.
The Royals had a chance to tie the game with one out. Vinnie Pasquantino recorded an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to one, 2-1.. However, Royals catcher Perez struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Royals faced Yankee starter Cam Schlittler followed by a host of relievers. Schlittler allowed one run in six innings. He surrendered three hits and recorded six strikeouts; 63 of his 93 pitches were strikes.
“He’s good,” Pasquantino said. “It’s an elite fastball. He doesn’t shy away from it with the percentages. … It’s not often a guy that tall is able to do the things he is able to do. So, he’s one of the best pitchers in the game right now.”
In the seventh, the Royals had two runners aboard with no outs. But Yankees reliever Brent Headrick retired Jac Caglianone, Jonathan India and Starling Marte in order.
Headrick struck out Caglianone and retired India, but then he uncorked a throwing error on a pickoff attempt to second. This allowed the Royals’ runners to move into scoring position.
Headrick avoided trouble, however, retiring Marte on a fly ball to center. It was another instance in which the Royals had failed to capitalize.
Pasquantino later capitalized on his own, squaring things up in the eighth inning with the homer to right field off Yankees reliever Camilo Doval. It was Pasquantino’s second homer of the year and made it 2-2.
Royals slugger Vinnie Pasquantino watches the flight of his home run against the New York Yankees in the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium on April 17, 2026 in New York City.
But McMahon answered for the Yankees with his two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth. David Bednar pitched the ninth and earned the save.
What’s next: Royals left-hander Noah Cameron (1-0, 3.94 ERA) will start Saturday’s afternoon game at Yankee Stadium. He will oppose Yankees right-hander Will Warren (1-0, 2.45 ERA), with first pitch set for 12:35 p.m. Central Time.
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