NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole was shaky. Aaron Judge did nothing. The Yankees won anyway.
Under the gaze of a sold-out home crowd, beneath an avalanche of supersonic expectations, the Bronx Bombers opened their 2024 postseason journey with a sloppy, energizing, comeback win over the upstart Kansas City Royals in . Much-maligned outfielder Alex Verdugo delivered the definitive blow in New York’s on Saturday, slicing a two-out RBI knock in the seventh to give New York a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Upon reaching second base, a triumphant Verdugo threw his hands in the air and made a summoning motion toward his jubilant teammates.
Yankee Stadium roared in delight, 45,000 souls celebrating the man many die-hards booed into oblivion during Verdugo’s summer of offensive ineptitude. In an instant, all was forgiven — or at least forgotten. The effect was the same.
“This is his moment,” third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. told Yahoo Sports about Verdugo. “This is when he does his s***.
He's been doing it his whole life — played in L.A., played in Boston.
This is what he does.” Alex Verdugo's go-ahead hit marked the 5th lead change in today's Royals-Yankees game, breaking the record for most lead changes in a game. (H/T ) — MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) Acquired last winter in a trade with the rival Red Sox, Verdugo struggled with the bat throughout his first year in the Bronx.
Stellar defense in Yankee Stadium’s spacious left field kept his profile afloat, but the endearingly.
