About Last Night: Yankees 1, Royals 0

by Derek McAdam

July 29, 2022

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After being swept by the Mets in a two-game series in Queens, the Yankees returned to Yankee Stadium and took Game 1 of the four-game series against the Royals by a score of 1-0, winning on an Aaron Judge walk-off home run in the 9th.

Quick Stats:

• Jameson Taillon: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K

• Andrew Benintendi’s First Game As Yankee: 0-for-4, 1 K

• Aaron Judge leads the MLB with 39 home runs

• Aaron Judge has 39 home runs, Joey Gallo has 37 hits

The Big Story:

Coming into last night’s game, the Yankees had lost 10 of their last 15 games and seemed to struggle on offense more than defense. Last night was not much different, as the Yankees managed only one hit in the first eight innings, a Gleyber Torres single in the 4th.

However, Jameson Taillon, Ron Marinaccio, and Clay Holmes each held the Royals scoreless and allowed only four hits, total, themselves.

On the first pitch he saw in the 9th inning, Aaron Judge sent his 39th home run of the season into the Royals’ bullpen to give the Yankees the win and avoid extra innings and a potential three-game losing streak. The Yankees improved 67-33 on the year and still hold a strong lead in the AL East.

Player of the Game:

Aaron Judge gave the Yankees the only offense of the night, and is more than deserving of the honor.

Notable Performances:

Both Jameson Taillon and Brady Singer had solid starts and gave their respective squads a chance to win the game.

Better to Forget:

Joey Gallo continues to struggle at the plate, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. The big question is if he will be with the Yankees much longer.

My Take:

While a win is a win, the Yankees offense is still a concern. Over the last three games, they’ve scored only one run that has not come via home run. Simply enough, that is not going to cut it for the Yankees come playoff time.

While it is a bad stretch of baseball, they still found a way to win last night, and that is all that matters. Taillon did not have his best stuff last night, but still gave the Yankees six shutout innings when it seemed unlikely he would make it past the 4th inning. Marinaccio and Holmes did a nice job of keeping the Royals off the board over the final three innings before Judge did his magic and sent the Yankees home with a win. This is a big first win of the series for the Yankees and while they want to find the offense again, they can at least have some confidence going into tonight’s game.

What’s Next?:

The Yankees are back home for the second game of the four-game series against the Royals tonight, as Gerrit Cole is expected to start for the Yankees while Kris Bubic is expected to start for the Royals. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. and will be available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.