Chris Peterson and Larry Lachman sparked a four-run rally in the bottom of the fifth inning, as the Royals overcame offensive struggles to beat Strull’s Yankees 9 – 4 and salvage a split in their morning doubleheader. The Yankees captured the opener 5 – 1 behind the clutch, Houdini-like performance by their ace, Ben Rakofsky.
Royals’ pitcher, Scott Greenberg, delivered two masterful pitching performances, yielding nine runs (seven earned), on 24 hits and only one walk across 13 innings, in challenging, gusty conditions. Greenberg was backed by an inspired and – at times – spectacular defense in one of the most dominant defensive performances of the year.
Tommy Apligian, batting in the leadoff spot, was a sparkplug in both games, reaching base six times via four hits and two walks, while Greenberg kept the line moving as well, getting on base five times with three hits and two walks.
While pitching and defense kept the Royals competitive, inconsistent hitting proved costly. They left a staggering 25 runners stranded – 13 in game one, 12 in the nightcap. Despite being gifted 16 bases on balls and collecting 20 hits in the doubleheader – for 36 baserunners over 13 innings – they could only plate 10 runs. The Royals had scoring opportunities in almost every inning, but credit Rakofsky, who kept the Royals’ bats off balance for 11 of the 13 innings, and the Yankees' defense as it was a well-played defensive battle by both teams, as there were only two errors in total.
In the opener on field 3 with a 9-mph breeze blowing in from center field, Apligian’s leadoff walk set the tone of the doubleheader, and Greenberg’s RBI single provided the lone Royals’ run, but the Royals were unable to capitalize further. The Yankees scored three runs in the bottom of the first, and carried a 3 – 1 lead to the bottom of the third.
While the Royals’ bats were ice cold, their defense was scorching hot, anchored by shortstop, Kyzer Hoover. Back-to-back singles by former Royals, Paul Villarroel and David Shaw, began the Yankees’ third inning. Ben Collincini’s single to right centerfield appeared to have scored Villarroel, but Apligian charged the ball and came up firing to Hoover, who then fired a strike to Lachman to nail Villarroel at the plate (9–6–2). Cody Strull’s subsequent double down the left field line drove in Shaw and Collincini, but Ryan Greenberg’s quick response limited the damage. His accurate throw to Hoover, who swiftly relayed the ball to Andy Wetterlin at third base, resulted in Strull being thrown out (7–6–5), preventing further scoring. That would be it for the Yankees’ offense, but their early runs proved sufficient for victory.
More stellar glovework produced double plays in the fourth and fifth to thwart Yankee rallies. Hoover started the 6–4–3 double play in the third, while Royals’ second baseman, Adwild Perez, snared a line drive in the fifth, and then his quick thinking and sheer hustle allowed him to chase down the runner who had strayed too far from first base, for the remarkable 4-U double play.
The pivotal moment in the game unfolded in the sixth inning. With two outs, Rakofsky walked the bases full bringing Hoover to the plate. Representing the tying run, Hoover hit a screaming liner into the left centerfield gap that had extra bases written all over it. Yankees’ left fielder, Seth Pepkin, sprinted to his left and dove, catching the ball millimeters above the turf. His stellar defensive play not only prevented at least three runs from scoring but also fundamentally shifted the momentum of the game.
Game 1 Offensive Stars
Scott Greenberg 2 – 2, 1 RBI, BB
Ryan Greenberg 2 – 3, 2B
Tommy Apligian 1 – 2, 1 Run, BB
Ronel Martinez 1 – 2, BB, 2B,
David Fiorello 1 – 2, BB
The Yankees and Royals traveled to field 1 to play the nightcap, where the wind picked up in speed to 13-mph, blowing out to right centerfield. The Royals’ defense picked up where it left off in game 1 when Villarroel led off the game by hitting a towering bomb to left field. Ryan Greenberg drifted back to the fence, timed his leap perfectly, and reached over the left field fence to pull back Villarroel’s homerun bid.
Drew Waggoner’s solo homerun in the first and Hoover’s RBI single in the third, produced the only Royal runs through four innings. Thanks to former Royal, Brad Earls’ solo homerun in the second, the Yankees took a 3 – 2 lead to the bottom of the fifth, when the Royals’ bats finally woke up.
Back-to-back singles by Lachman and Peterson preceded Apligian’s RBI double. Peterson scored on Fiorello’s sacrifice fly, and Apligian scored on Waggoner’s RBI single. Waggoner moved to third on Scott Greenberg’s single and then scored on Hoover’s sac fly, providing the Royals some breathing room, 6 – 3.
Villarroel’s inside-the-parker pulled the Yankees to within two, 6 – 4 in the sixth, but the Royals broke it open in the bottom of the frame. Despite a lack of two-out clutch hits in the previous 12 innings, a shift occurred in the sixth with Apligian’s timely, 2-run single with the bases loaded, extending the Royals’ lead to 9 – 4, which is how the game ended an inning later.
Game 2 Offensive Stars
Tommy Apligian 3 – 3, 2 Runs, 3 RBI, BB, 2B
Drew Waggoner 2 – 2, 2 Runs, 2 RBI, BB, HR
Kyzer Hoover 1 – 1, 2 RBI, BB, SF
Scott Greenberg 1 – 2, BB
Ryan Greenberg 2 – 3
Andy Wetterlin 1 – 2, BB
Chris Peterson 1 – 2, 1 Run, BB
Adwild Perez 2 BB, 1Run
Despite stranding an abundance of runners early on, the Royals stayed resilient defensively until their bats finally heated up late, earning them a hard-fought split.
