NEW YORK -- The Yankees were stymied by Royals Cy Young candidate Seth Lugo on Tuesday -- and he's a pitcher they might have to solve come October.

New York fell, 5-0, to Kansas City in the second game of the matchup between American League postseason contenders at Yankee Stadium. A day after scoring 10 runs in their series-opening win, the Yankees were held scoreless by Lugo on just three hits over seven innings -- two singles by Gleyber Torres and one by Austin Wells.

"That was probably as good a performance [as there's been] against us this year," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "We were silent."

Behind Lugo, the Royals managed a feat that no team had ever accomplished against the Yankees in New York's franchise history -- they shut out the Yankees, didn't issue a walk and racked up 14 strikeouts.

And with the Orioles beating the Red Sox, the Yankees' lead in the American League East shrank back to a half-game with 17 games to play in the regular season. The Yankees are 83-62, the Orioles are 83-63 -- and the Royals are just behind in the AL Wild Card race at 80-66.

So Lugo is one of the aces the Bronx Bombers could face in the postseason -- either in the Division Series or potentially the Wild Card round if they can't hold off Baltimore and secure a bye.

"The playoffs are a different animal," Torres said. "If we face [Lugo] again, we for sure have to have a different plan."

Torres, who continues to excel in the leadoff spot for New York, was the only Yankee to muster much offense against Lugo. He flared one single to center field in the first inning, and another just over Bobby Witt Jr.'s head at shortstop in the sixth.

Since the Bronx Bombers moved Torres to the top of the order nearly a month ago, Torres is batting .326 (30-for-92) with a .417 on-base percentage over 23 games.

The Yankees did beat Lugo the first time they faced him this year, scoring four runs on eight hits against him in a 4-2 win in Kansas City on June 10. That gives New York some confidence that Lugo is not a total mystery.

"I don't think so," Juan Soto said. "I think we had a really good plan when we faced him in Kansas City. So I think we've just got to go back to that game and try to do the same thing we did there."

"I remember when we faced him in Kansas City earlier in the year, we attacked him earlier," Torres said. "Tonight we tried to do the same thing, but I think his plan was a little bit different. … He commanded really well. And we didn't take the approach from the beginning, and he got us."

Torres, who finished 2-for-4, was the only Yankees starter not to strike out against Lugo. The Royals’ right-hander struck out 10, including Aaron Judge twice, as the Yankees' MVP candidate saw his season-long home run drought reach 14 games.

Lugo can be especially tough to face because he has one of the most diverse repertoires in baseball. Lugo throws nine pitches -- four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, slider, sweeper, curveball, slurve, changeup, splitter -- and if you fall behind, you have to somehow be ready for all nine.

"It was just hard for everyone to get a bead on him," Boone said. "He's not making mistakes. It's hard to really look for one pitch because he's throwing the kitchen sink at you, and he's changing speeds on you, and he's got a lead, and he knows how to attack with that. He beat us tonight."

Soto, who faced Lugo for years in the NL East when he was with the Nationals and Lugo was with the Mets -- then briefly joined forces with him as teammates with the Padres last season -- said the expansion of Lugo's arsenal is what has allowed him to become a Cy Young-caliber pitcher.

"I feel like since the first time I faced him, he's added, like, four or five pitches," Soto said. "I think that's what's made him better and better throughout the years. That's the biggest difference that I've seen."

And that's what the Yankees might have to make some adjustments for in the postseason.

"I think the plan is to pick whatever pitch you believe you can do damage on, and just try to see it," Torres said. "He threw everything well. I don't believe he walks many people, so the plan is just attack, and try to see the pitch you can hit."