KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On plenty of nights, particularly when Aaron Judge is in the lineup, the Yankees can find ways to score that are easy on the eyes.
Thursday was not one of those nights, but they got the job done anyway.
With Judge getting most of the night off, the Yankees struggled to do much without him before Pablo Reyes scored a run in chaotic fashion in the top of the eighth to escape Kauffman Stadium with a 1-0 win over the Royals.
Thanks to a strong start from Will Warren and some gritty work from the bullpen, it was enough to send the Yankees (42-25) flying to Boston with a three-game sweep and a six-game season sweep of the Royals (34-35) in their ALDS rematch.
“Phew, we’ll take it,” manager Aaron Boone said.
The defining image of the night was the little-used Reyes sprawled out on his back next to home plate and gasping for air after a wild trip from second base to score the only run of the game.
There were two outs when Paul Goldschmidt hit a line drive to first base, where Vinnie Pasquantino jumped up and got his glove on it before it trickled about 10 feet behind him.
Pitcher Lucas Erceg raced to cover first, but the throw there was late as Goldschmidt busted it down the line.
Meanwhile, Reyes was racing around third and heading for home as Pasquantino threw to first, but he stumbled about halfway down the line, which caused him to turn back for third.
But after taking a few steps, he changed direction again, and with the last bit of oxygen he had, he ran home to dive in safely with some help from Erceg, who took a few steps toward the plate before his throw home bounced in the dirt.
“There’s a little bit of panic, because it’s late in the game … and you definitely want to score there,” Reyes said through an interpreter. “There’s two outs, so in my mind, I’m trying to do whatever I can to score. I lost my balance, and at the same time, I heard [third-base coach] Luis Rojas telling me, ‘Keep going, keep going, keep going!’ I noticed there was a hesitation there [by] the pitcher, and I just kept going and did the best I could.”
“Pablo juked [Erceg] out,” Warren said with a chuckle.
Reyes, who was making just his seventh start of the season, is in danger of losing his roster spot once Giancarlo Stanton returns from the injured list, which could be as early as this weekend.
But at least on Thursday night, the utilityman had a feel-good game — including a nifty, back-handed shovel play out of his glove to get an out at first — to help the Yankees win.
“I’m trying to enjoy every opportunity that Booney gives to me,” said Reyes, who started the rally by roping a single the other way off Erceg to lead off the inning. “I just try to keep my head up and come here every day and work hard and get ready for the opportunity. … If he gives me the opportunity, I’m going to try to enjoy it and help my teammates, trying [to do] what I can, give my best to win the game. That’s the only thing I can control.”
A sharp Jonathan Loáisiga got three groundouts in the bottom of the eighth before Devin Williams was strong again in a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save.
On a strong night from the Yankees’ defense, they capped off the seventh shutout win of the season, which began with 5 ²/₃ innings from Warren as he traded zeroes with Royals starter Seth Lugo around a 28-minute rain delay in the top of the sixth.
“I think we look at it as like we dominated the game today,” Warren said.
The Yankees now head to Fenway Park for a rematch with the Red Sox, having just dropped two of three to them last weekend in The Bronx, after proving they can, in fact, win a game without Judge (who struck out looking as a pinch-hitter in the decisive eighth inning).
“It’s going to take all of us to win,” Goldschmidt said, “and that was a good example of that.”