‘Something special here’: Yankees back in ALCS
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was picture time, and the most important person was nowhere to be seen. The New York Yankees had just dispatched the Kansas City Royals from the postseason and advanced to the American League Championship Series with a 3-1 victory Thursday night, and everyone gathered on the mound at Kauffman Stadium to memorialize the moment except for one person. So they started chanting his name.
“Ger-rit Co-le,” they repeated, with a clap-clap-clapclapclap in between, the same chant with which Yankees fans had serenaded him in the immediate aftermath of the win. And when Gerrit Cole, brought to New York specifically for moments like this, finally arrived, the Yankees broke out into a cheer and could properly capture the aftermath of a series that made them look as dangerous as they have in years.
Cole stifled the Royals for seven innings, allowing one run in a Game 4 victory that resembled their win the previous night: excellent pitching, strong defense and enough hitting to advance to their 19th ALCS. The best team in the AL during the regular season barely stumbled in its division series, stealing a pair of game in Kansas City to secure its spot in the ALCS, with Game 1 on Monday night at Yankee Stadium against the winner of the Detroit-Cleveland ALDS Game 5 on Saturday.
“We played a really good brand of baseball in this series,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
In Game 4, it started with Cole, the 34-year-old right-hander who missed the first 2½ months of the season with elbow issues. From the first inning, when he was heaving 98 mph fastballs, to his final out, when Kansas City’s Kyle Isbel sent a 97 mph heater to the warning track, Cole conjured his Cy Young self. Teammates had seen him in the aftermath of their 3-2 victory the previous day and foretold a vintage Cole outing coming by his gaze.
“It’s a piercing look,” Yankees catcher Jose Trevino said. “And he had it [Wednesday] night, after the last out. I was like, ‘I’ve seen those eyes before, Ace. I’ve seen those eyes before.’ I mean, he was ready.”
New York staked Cole to a 1-0 lead three pitches into the game when Gleyber Torres doubled on the first pitch from Royals starter Michael Wacha and Juan Soto drove him in with a single two pitches later. Torres drove in the Yankees’ second run in the fifth inning, shooting a single to right field that scored Alex Verdugo and chased Wacha from the game.
Cole, in the meantime, continued to cruise, allowing only two hits — both to Tommy Pham — through five innings. The sixth offered more of the great brand of baseball of which Boone spoke. With Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia on first after a leadoff single, leadoff hitter Michael Massey smashed a Cole curveball to first base. Jon Berti, who had never played first base before Game 2 of the series and was forced there by an injury to Anthony Rizzo, fielded it, stepped on first for the force out, wheeled and fired a seed to shortstop Anthony Volpe, who tagged Garcia for a double play.
The slide and tag were both firm, and as Garcia stood up, he glanced toward Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm, who had drawn the ire of Kansas City fans — and Garcia on social media — for calling the Royals’ Game 2 victory “lucky.” When Chisholm started talking to Garcia, the benches and bullpens emptied, and umpires needed to separate the sides.
“He should know that he did the wrong thing right there being a sore loser,” Chisholm told ESPN. “Coming in as rough as he came in — that’s sore loser stuff. We don’t do that over here. I would never do anything like that. I would never slide into a player. No player has ever complained about me trying to injure them on the field, and I don’t take that, and I’m always going to back my boys. So when he got up, I saw him and Volpe talking, but I don’t take that lightly because if he got hurt, we’ve got to go find another shortstop. That’s not cool. We wouldn’t do that to Bobby Witt Jr. So I would expect an apology from him. But if he doesn’t, that’s OK. He can be a sore loser.”
Through an interpreter, Garcia told reporters: “I don’t have anything against him, I just saw that he said something. I don’t know what he said, just saw that he did.”
The contretemps invigorated Kansas City. Witt, the Royals star who had struggled during the series, laced a two-out single to right field, and Vinnie Pasquantino drove him home with a double to the left-center-field gap the cut Kansas City’s deficit to 3-1.
Boone stuck with Cole in the seventh — and was feet from regretting it. Isbel’s drive to right field would have been a home run in 24 of 30 major league stadiums — “My heart skipped a beat,” Boone said afterward — but Kauffman’s large dimensions saved Cole, who allowed six hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out four over 87 pitches.
He ceded to Clay Holmes, who pitched a scoreless eighth, and Luke Weaver, the former Royal who saved all three of the division series victories for the Yankees. They celebrated on the field and then retired to the clubhouse, where they sprayed bubbly and drank beer and wondered whether this could be the team to break the 14-year championship drought that, designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton said, drives these Yankees.
“The weight of the wait since 2009,” said Stanton, who followed his Game 3 heroics with two more hits in Game 4. “You can’t run from reality, so you know what’s at stake, you know what we need to do. So it ain’t about rankings, it ain’t about who’s supposed to this and that. We got to go out and do it every night.”
If they do it like they did in the division series, the Yankees will be a tough out. Their relievers threw 15⅔ scoreless innings. Their batters, recognizing that patience is baseball’s utmost virtue, drew 27 walks in four games. They also know enough to know that one great series does not a ring-fitting make.
“There’s so much baseball left,” Cole said. “I mean, we’re obviously confident, right? We’re focused. We’re trying to improve the brand of baseball that we’re playing as we continue to get deeper into October. Even when you’re banged up, you feel the same way. That’s your job. You’ve got to just get after the ball regardless of what you have.”
What the Yankees have, it turns out, is something more than just the Aaron Judge and Juan Soto Show. Soto played well in the series, and Judge, after struggling early, laced a double and walked twice in Game 4. With one other American League Central team left to conquer for the Yankees to return to the World Series, Judge said, “There’s something special here. I think we got a little bit of the ghost from the old stadium, a little bit of magic there, too.”
Others are thinking of the potential for something even bigger. Two teams have advanced to their league championship series, and both are from New York. And with all the connections between the New York baseball clubs — former Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza manages the Mets while recent Yankees Luis Severino and Harrison Bader play for them — both know they’re four victories from something that has happened just once.
“I’ve been saying it, texting with Bader a lot,” Rizzo said. “Manifesting a Subway Series.”
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Ryan S. Clark
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Kristen Shilton
There’s an ancient South Florida proverb about numbers: Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four.
Opening the Eastern Conference finals with five goals in Game 1 on Tuesday showed that at least for one game the Florida Panthers could find a breakthrough against the Carolina Hurricanes. Only for Thursday to arrive and the Panthers to once again post five more goals in a 5-0 win to take a 2-0 series lead before heading back to Sunrise for Game 3.
How did both teams perform? Who are the players to watch next game, and what are the big questions facing the Hurricanes and Panthers ahead of Game 3 on Saturday?
Say what you will about the offside goal being akin to Charlie Brown getting the football pulled out from under him by Lucy. While it’s possible that the disallowed goal could have provided momentum, there were other things that suggested the Hurricanes were going to struggle.
Under Rod Brind’Amour, they’ve become one of the teams that consistently generates the highest number of shots per game. They entered Game 2 averaging 33.2 shots per game, yet they hadn’t even cracked double digits until there was 14 minutes remaining in the third period. Natural Stat Trick’s metrics showed they had two high-danger scoring chances midway through the third period, and after giving up seven goals throughout the entirety of the second round, they’ve allowed 10 goals in the first two games.
Or view it this way: The Panthers had more goals than the Hurricanes had high-danger scoring chances. — Clark
What more is there to say about Florida, really? The term “clinic” doesn’t seem to cover it. The Panthers have done it all against Carolina in these first two games.
Thursday was another dominant performance by the reigning Stanley Cup champions in an offensive and defensive effort that requires no notes. The Panthers set a tone early with Gustav Forsling‘s goal just 1:17 into the game and never relented. The Hurricanes were averaging over 33 shots per night in the postseason (second most among playoff teams), and Florida limited their chances to seven shots through the first two periods alone — while the Panthers pummeled Carolina with 16 shots and four goals in the same span. It was enough to chase Frederik Andersen from the net, when he was replaced by Pyotr Kochetkov with a four-goal deficit.
The Hurricanes’ top scorers were simply no match for Florida’s attack or a locked-in Sergei Bobrovsky, who, while not heavily challenged, was a match for all comers in a 16-save shutout. The way Florida is playing right now, one has to wonder how the Hurricanes can get back in this series as the teams shift down to Florida. — Shilton
Three Stars of Game 2
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Panthers go up 3-0 on Sam Bennett’s power-play goal
The Panthers threaten to run away with it after Sam Bennett’s power-play goal makes it 3-0 in the first period.
He had two goals and a helper, as the Panthers dominated the Hurricanes in Game 2. This is Bennett’s second career 3-plus point playoff game and second career multigoal playoff game.
2. Team defense
The Hurricanes were averaging 33.2 shots per game this postseason, second in the playoffs to the Colorado Avalanche. But the Panthers, with their efficient and suffocating defense, held Carolina to five shots in the first 30 minutes of the game. Near the end of the second period, the fans at Lenovo Center were growing tired of it and started chanting “shoot the puck” at their team. Carolina did have more shot volume in the third period, ending with 17, but nothing got past Sergei Bobrovsky.
3. Offside reviews and coaching tactics
Normally, I’m not the biggest fan of lengthy offside reviews. I wish there was a timer — if you can’t make the call in 90 seconds, then the call on the ice stands. But the Florida Panthers executed one to perfection in Game 2. Up 3-0 in the second period, the Hurricanes scored, but thinking the play was offside, the Panthers called a timeout to buy more time to see every angle available, eventually calling for the challenge. It was indeed determined to be offside and the goal was taken away. — Arda Öcal
Players to watch in Game 3
Let’s start here with the Hurricanes. There’s no shortage of options. Part of the reason Svechnikov is in this space is because he leads the Hurricanes in goals this postseason. The rest of it has more to do with whether the Canes can rely on a certain postseason pattern for Svechnikov holding true. After going goalless in Games 2 and 3 against the New Jersey Devils in the first round, he responded with a hat trick. He didn’t score in the first two games against the Washington Capitals only to then score a goal in three straight games. Could Svechnikov respond by grabbing at least one goal in Game 3? Or are the Canes in store for more offensive struggles once they arrive in Sunrise? — Clark
The Panthers’ instigator had been quiet since Florida’s first-round series win over Tampa Bay, recording just five assists in eight games heading into Game 2 against Carolina. But Tkachuk looked more like himself Thursday, agitating the Hurricanes and making his physical presence felt. He also emerged early on the score sheet, registering an assist on Gustav Forsling’s game-opening salvo and adding a goal — Tkachuk’s first in 10 games — in the opening period to extend Florida’s lead to 2-0. It was a testament to how commanding Tkachuk’s line was with Sam Bennett (two goals and an assist) and Carter Verhaeghe (three assists) that he was able to finally appear as the Tkachuk of old. If this was indeed Tkachuk’s reawakening after a slow stretch, then the Hurricanes better be well aware of Tkachuk going forward because he was as dangerous as ever at both ends of the ice in Game 2. — Shilton
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Matthew Tkachuk taps it in to pad the Panthers’ lead
Matthew Tkachuk sneaks the puck past the goalie to pad the Panthers’ lead against the Hurricanes.
Big questions for Game 3
What’s the response to their worst playoff loss this year?
Several questions will be asked when it comes to what adjustments can be made before Game 3. Could one of them be about what the Hurricanes must do to get off to a stronger start? Allowing two first-period goals in Game 1 already presented the reality that the Panthers were going to remain aggressive. But to then give up the first goal less than two minutes into the first before giving up three in total in an opening frame that saw the Panthers record just five shots on net? That only adds to the degree of difficulty for a team that has now lost two straight playoff games after losing two postseason games in total over the first two rounds, especially when the last time the Hurricanes were down 0-2 to the Panthers in a playoff series was during the 2023 Eastern Conference finals in which they were swept. — Clark
Will Sam Reinhart be back at full strength for the Panthers?
Florida saw one of its top skaters exit in the first period after Sebastian Aho delivered a hit that forced Reinhart out for the remainder of the game with a lower-body injury. While Florida had Game 2 well in hand even before Reinhart became unavailable, it’s safe to say the Panthers are a better team when he’s in the lineup. Reinhart’s status going forward is significant for Florida overall. Reinhart paced the Panthers with 39 goals and 81 points in the regular season and notched 11 points in 13 postseason tilts going into Game 2. Florida must hope that Reinhart isn’t just available for Game 3 (and beyond), but that he’s not too banged up to continue operating at a high level. — Shilton
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