KC Royals fall in extra innings to New York Yankees, but these were 3 bright spots

The Kansas City Royals arrived in New York with a chance to conclude their difficult 20-game stretch against American League contenders on a high note.

Instead, the Royals proved they were battle tested in defeat. KC fell 4-3 in 11 innings to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium and dropped to 80-67.

Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. drove in the game-winning run off Royals reliever Kris Bubic. The Yankees earned the series victory and kept pace with the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.

“Our guys play hard and they play the right way and they come out every day to compete,” manager Matt Quatraro said, via the Royals. “We know we are a good team and we play well. They are a good team as well and got us two out of three and that’s frustrating.”

The Yankees improved to 84-62.

Royals southpaw Cole Ragans turned in a solid start. He allowed two earned runs and struck out seven batters in six innings. He surrendered a two-run homer to superstar Juan Soto in the bottom of the sixth.

“He pitched six innings and gave up two runs to that lineup,” Quatraro said. “That’s pretty darn good. One pitch for a home run doesn’t make it not a good game. I think he threw the ball well.”

Ragans earned a no-decision. Royals duo Salvador Perez and Michael Massey added RBIs in the loss.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s game.

Salvador Perez makes key defensive play

The Royals were in a difficult spot in the seventh inning. Left-handed reliever Sam Long had allowed a single and a walk to Anthony Rizzo.

With two runners on, Long was charged with protecting a tied ball game. After a quick mound visit, Long forced Yankees catcher Jose Trevino to ground out to first base.

Royals first baseman Salvador Perez charged the baseball and tagged Trevino. Then, he whipped around to throw out shortstop Anthony Volpe at home.

“That’s instincts,” Quatraro said. “He is aware of the situation and he knew that ball was chopped and where the runner was going. Those guys were running on the pitch. He understood all of that and had the wherewithal to come up and make a really accurate throw.”

Initially, Trevino was ruled safe by the umpire crew. The Royals challenged the call and it was overturned by replay review.

The double play kept the game tied at 2-2. Long was off the hook as the Yankees were kept off the scoreboard in a crucial spot.

Tommy Pham shines in right field

Tommy Pham continues to leave his mark with the Royals. In the fifth inning, Pham threw out Verdugo trying to stretch a single into double.

Verdugo hit a line drive off the right-field wall that Pham played perfectly on a hop. He collected the baseball and shifted his momentum towards second base. He uncoiled the baseball to shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. covering the bag.

Witt caught the baseball and placed the tag just ahead of Verdugo’s slide. The play was crucial as it wiped out a potential scoring opportunity.

At the plate, Pham added three hits against the Yankees. He finished 3-for-4 as his hot streak was extended atop the Royals lineup.

In the ninth inning, Pham did make a baserunning mistake by getting picked off with Witt at the plate.

Michael Massey blasts 13th home run

Royals second baseman Michael Massey likes hitting at Yankee Stadium. On Wednesday, he drilled a solo home run off Yankees starter Luis Gil.

Massey capped a nine-pitch at-bat with a 375-foot homer over the right-field wall. The solo blast gave the Royals a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning.

In his career, Massey has four home runs in six games at Yankee Stadium.

What’s next on the KC Royals’ schedule:

The Royals are off on Thursday before beginning a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park this weekend.

KC has not announced a starter for Friday’s game. Alec Marsh is in line to draw the start after last pitching on Sept. 7.

The Pirates will start Luis Ortiz (6-5, 3.25 ERA) in the series opener.