Yankees Takeaways from Sunday's 8-7 extra-inning loss to Royals

Whit Merrifield walks it off in the 10th for Kansas City

5/26/2019, 9:45 PM
May 26, 2019; Kansas City, MO, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) hits a three run home run during the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken/USA TODAY Sports / Peter Aiken
May 26, 2019; Kansas City, MO, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) hits a three run home run during the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken/USA TODAY Sports / Peter Aiken

Chris Carelli, SNY.TV  Twitter | About Me | Archives

 After coming back in the ninth inning, the Yankees lost in 10 innings to the Royals, 8-7, at Kauffman Stadium. >> Box score

Five takeaways from Sunday's game...

1) Nestor Cortes Jr. pitched extremely well in relief of Domingo German, going four scoreless innings in which he allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four batters. Cortes Jr. ran into trouble in the ninth inning, but escaped a bases-loaded jam. Cortes Jr.'s performance allowed the Yankees to give the rest of the bullpen a breather with the team is set to play seven straight games before the team's next off day.

2) The Yankees scored three runs off Royals closer Ian Kennedy, highlighted by an RBI-single from DJ LeMahieu and a two-out, two-run single by Aaron Hicks.

3) German missed with his pitch location and the Royals made him pay. German allowed seven runs in five innings of work, including four home runs. German had allowed just five home runs in his previous 55 1/3 innings. With the outing, German's ERA jumped from 2.60 to 3.43. He'll have to get things back on course against the Red Sox in his next start.

4) After going 0-for-9 in Saturday's doubleheader, Gleyber Torres clubbed his 13th home run of the season, a three-run bomb to center field. Torres added a single and finished 2-for-5.

5) There was a lot of bad defense in this series for the Yankees, but Clint Frazier had the hardest time of all. Frazier dropped a couple of balls, which continues to call into question whether he can be an effective outfielder in the big leagues. Frazier's bat is heating back up (three hits Sunday), which might keep him in the lineup, but maybe it will be as a designated hitter more often than not until either Giancarlo Stanton or Aaron Judge returns from the injured list.

Highlights

What's next

The Yankees head back to New York to begin a three-game series against the Padres. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

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