Pesky bats fluster Cole as Royals' offense builds momentum

NEW YORK -- MJ Melendez was preparing for his turn to face Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in the fourth inning from the on-deck circle when he noticed something different about him 10 pitches into a battle against Yuli Gurriel.

Frustration.

“You could just see it on Cole's face that he was getting frustrated with Yuli,” Melendez recalled. “He was taking the balls and fouling off the strikes, fouling off some tough pitches. And I think he's the reason why I ended up having the outcome that I had was probably because of what he was able to do in that one at-bat.”

After the walk to Gurriel, Melendez knocked a two-run homer over the short porch to retake the lead.

Kansas City took advantage of nearly every opportunity it had against the Yankees, getting hard contact early against Cole and capitalizing on New York’s defensive mistakes. The Royals produced the runs they’ve been searching for, but they were edged out, 6-5, by the Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium.

"I thought their lineup was a tough out tonight,” said Yankees catcher Austin Wells. “They did a really good job taking some of his pitches out of the zone and hitting the ones in it."

Michael Massey, Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino got the offense started with the hard contact off Cole. They were retired in order, but their balls in play had exit velocities of 102.5 mph, 108.4 mph, and 105.2 mph, respectively.

“From the beginning they made great contact,” Gurriel said in Spanish. “I think that when you make positive contact like that against a pitcher like Cole, it gives you a lot more confidence, and that’s what the guys did.”

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The Royals took that early momentum into the second inning. Veteran Salvador Perez knocked a leadoff single to get the offense started. Gurriel was able to draw his first of two walks off Cole, and Kansas City had its first opportunity to capitalize. After Perez was tagged out at home plate on Melendez’s single, Gurriel made his way to third base. The first baseman scored the first run on Tommy Pham’s ensuing sac fly to give the Royals an early lead.

Gurriel’s leadoff single in the sixth off Cole marked the end of the right-hander’s outing. That in itself was a win for the Royals, who were looking to get back on track offensively.

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“We did a good job,” Gurriel said. “Everyone knows that we were playing against a high-quality pitcher, and we were able to get the job done. We were able to get him out before the sixth inning, and that’s a great job done by the guys.”

Shortly after Cole left the mound in the sixth, Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe made a throwing error that allowed Gurriel to reach third base and Pham to reach second base with reliever Tim Hill on the mound.

Garrett Hampson immediately capitalized on the opportunity with two runners on base. He entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Kyle Isbel and was the second batter to face Hill.

Hill threw two sinkers, then a third. Hampson made contact on the final one and sent it through the middle of the diamond, bringing in the go-ahead run in a game that saw five lead changes -- the most in postseason history.

“It's awesome to come through for this team,” Hampson said. “I love these guys. That's special about playoff baseball: It doesn't matter who gets the credit, we're all just trying to win. It doesn't matter -- stats are thrown out, all the credit is thrown out. We don't care how we win, we just want to win.”

The Game 1 outcome may not have been a win, but the offense’s performance on Saturday night has given the Royals confidence as they prepare for Game 2.

“It's a five-game series for a reason,” Melendez said. “Us coming back here on Monday and taking care of business. Off-day tomorrow and kind of reset, I feel like it could be good for us and come back on all cylinders.”