Behind the pivotal at-bat that swung Royals-Yankees Game 3, if not entire ALDS

For the most part, Royals pitchers did their job against the top two hitters in the Yankees lineup in Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Kauffman Stadium. They held Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, with their combined 99 home runs this season, without a hit.

The Royals weren’t so fortunate with the Yankees’ third slugger.

Giancarlo Stanton, who entered the game with a single in eight at-bats over the first two games, blasted a 417-foot solo home run off Kris Bubic in the eighth inning that provided the difference in a 3-2 Yankees’ triumph.

Stanton drilled a slider from the left-handed Bubic that may have been below the strike zone to deep left field, making Bubic the losing pitcher.

“He put a good swing on a good pitch, you tip your cap there,” Bubic said. “But it can’t happen, especially late in the game, in a tight game.”

The Royals had battled back from a 2-0 deficit with a pair of runs in the fifth on RBI hits from Kyle Isbel and Michael Massey. The game remained tied until the eighth, when Bubic entered.

He had been solid in three previous playoff appearances, pitching in both games against the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card series, and in the Royals’ Game 2 victory in New York on Monday. In 3 2/3 innings, Bubic had surrendered four hits and no runs.

The clean sheet changed after Stanton worked the count to his favor, 3-1.

“I’d already thrown him one (slider), so he saw it earlier in the sequence,” Bubic. “But 3-1 to a guy swinging the bat well ... I’ve got to be in better counts from the jump.”

The blast completed a big night for the veteran, who hit his 12th career postseason home run. He got the scoring started with an RBI double in the fourth and singled.

Bubic had pitched to Stanton in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium and fell behind in the count, but got him to ground out. The same circumstance on this occasion proved to be a disaster and have pushed the Royals, for the first time in the playoffs, to the brink of elimination.

“I’ll be ready to go (Thursday),” Bubic said. “Everybody in the bullpen will be ready when their number is called.”