The Yankees couldn’t complete the Royal flush.
Clay Holmes’ blown save Thursday allowed the Royals to steal a 4-3 win and avoid a four-game sweep in Kansas City.
Maikel Garcia’s walk-off two-run double with two outs in the ninth inning erased the Yankees’ 3-2 lead and completed the Kansas City comeback.
The Royals’ Drew Waters began the rally with a one-out single on a soft ground ball to first base. Instead of charging the ball, Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo stayed back on it as Holmes raced to cover first, and Waters managed to beat the throw.
No. 9 hitter Kyle Isbel then fought back from 0-2 and struck a single with two outs, setting up Garcia’s game-winner.
The comeback completed a roller-coaster game in which Royals starter Alec Marsh held the Yankees hitless for six innings and scoreless for seven, only for the Kansas City bullpen to melt down as soon as he left.
The Yankees trailed, 2-0, before rallying for three runs in the eighth inning, with Juan Soto’s two-out RBI single against Angel Zerpa putting them up, 3-2.
Thursday marked Soto’s fourth game back since missing three in a row over the weekend with left forearm inflammation. He also broke up Marsh’s no-hit bid with a single to lead off the seventh.
Acquired in a franchise-altering December trade with the Padres, the superstar Soto continues to demonstrate a flair for the dramatic. He is now hitting .396 with 39 RBI in 53 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Rizzo led off the eighth with a solo home run against Royals reliever John Schreiber. The home run was the first since May 10 for Rizzo, who entered Thursday 2-for-37 in June and had sat out of Sunday and Monday’s games in an attempt to reset.
It was a rough day for Aaron Judge, who struck out in each of his four at-bats to end his streak of getting on base at 37 consecutive games.
Holmes’ fourth blown save of the year wasted a strong start by Nestor Cortes, who held Kansas City (38-31) to two runs in seven innings. His lone blemish came in the fourth, when Vinnie Pasquantino struck a two-run double.
It was the best road start of the year for Cortes, who entered Thursday with a 6.17 ERA away from Yankee Stadium compared to a 1.77 mark in the Bronx.
The loss snapped the Yankees’ (49-22) four-game winning streak. They’ll look to get back into the win column in Boston, where they’re set to begin their first series of the season against the rival Red Sox on Friday night.
Luis Gil (8-1, 2.04 ERA) is scheduled to kick off the three-game set for the Yankees, while Brayan Bello (6-3, 4.78) is slated to start for Boston.
