Perez’s HR sparks 4-run 4th as Royals tie ALDS
NEW YORK — Salvador Perez homered leading off the fourth inning to spark a four-run rally against Carlos Rodón, and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Yankees 4-2 on Monday night to even their American League Division Series at one game apiece.
Four relievers held New York in check after an inconsistent Cole Ragans lasted four innings. Tommy Pham, Garrett Hampson and Maikel Garcia singled in runs for the Royals.
Garcia, moved up from ninth to first in Kansas City’s batting order, had four hits.
Game 3 in the best-of-five playoff series is Wednesday night at Kansas City, the Royals’ first postseason home game since the 2015 World Series.
“It’s basically like a brand-new series when we get to the K,” Ragans said, referring to Kauffman Stadium.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge went 1-for-3 with an infield single and is 1-for-7 with four strikeouts in the series. Kansas City star Bobby Witt Jr., expected to finish second to Judge in AL MVP voting, was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, dropping to 0-for-10 in the series.
All four division series opened 1-1 for the first time since the round started in 1995.
Giancarlo Stanton put the Yankees ahead with an RBI single in the third, but New York went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and is 3-for-19 in the two games.
“They were making their pitches when they needed to,” Judge said. “We’ve got to come through in those situations to kind of break it open.”
Ragans gave up only the one run and three hits, striking out five and walking four. Winning pitcher Angel Zerpa and John Schreiber each followed with a hitless inning before Kris Bubic threw two scoreless innings. Lucas Erceg worked the ninth for his third save this postseason.
Erceg gave up a leadoff homer to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and a two-out single to Jon Berti but retired Gleyber Torres on a grounder to end it with slugger Juan Soto on deck. Chisholm’s homer was the first off Erceg since June 12, when he was still pitching for Oakland.
Perez, at 34 the only remaining Royals player from their 2015 championship team, tied the score when he drove a 2-0 slider into the left-field seats. The nine-time All-Star entered 12-for-26 (.462) with three homers off Rodón, an old AL Central rival when he pitched for the Chicago White Sox.
“He falls behind him, and from there started making some mistakes with his secondary [pitches] just in the heart of the plate,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Yuli Gurriel singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Pham’s one-out single for a 2-1 lead, prompting cheers from NFL fans at the Kansas City Chiefs’ home game against New Orleans at Arrowhead Stadium. Pham stole second and scored on a two-out single by Hampson.
Garcia greeted Ian Hamilton with an RBI single that put the Royals ahead 4-1.
Rodón, lined up to pitch a potential Game 5, gave up four runs and seven hits in 3⅔ innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. Twenty-four of the 32 home runs he has given up this season have been solo shots.
“Obviously, I want to be better than that — especially how the first three innings went,” Rodón said. “I wouldn’t say I tired out. Just got to be better with those pitches, just more fine with them and get to better spots.”
Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun will return to Ohio State in 2025, he told ESPN, a big boost to a Buckeyes defense that could have eight players drafted this spring.
Igbinosun did not file paperwork to be eligible for the NFL draft, which was due Friday for Ohio State and Notre Dame players.
“I’m coming back to school to be a first-round draft pick,” he told ESPN.
Igbinosun is a two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention cornerback who has been a two-year starter since transferring from Ole Miss. He said the allure of being more of a leader next season played a big role in his decision to return, as he’ll be one of the most experienced members of the defense.
He had nine passes break-ups, two interceptions and a recovered fumble for the Buckeyes this season during the school’s run to the national title. He’ll again be a linchpin of Ohio State’s defense next season as the team projects to return three full-time defensive starters.
Igbinosun said he decided to return after talking over his decision with his mother, coach Ryan Day and cornerbacks coach Tim Walton.
“I get the opportunity to lead and do it all over again,” he said, “and have a bigger role as a leader, as more is going to be expected of me as a senior.”
Igbinosun has all the tangibles the NFL is usually looking for, as he has flashed top-end speed and good instincts. At 6-foot-2, 192 pounds, he has the body type of a long NFL corner.
But the obvious flaw in his game has been penalties. He was the most penalized cornerback in college football this season, getting flagged 16 times in coverage.
“I want to improve on the penalties,” he said. “I had too many, I want to clean that up.”
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