Division Series – New York Yankees v Kansas City Royals – Game 4 / Jamie Squire/GettyImages
The New York Yankees have jumped on the first pitch plenty early in ALDS Game 4. In fact, the batter who might’ve made Royals starter Michael Wacha sweat the most thus far is on his own team.
After allowing an immediate double and run-scoring single, Wacha induced an Aaron Judge double play and got back to the dugout following an Austin Wells liner. He likely wished fairly quickly that he hadn’t made it back to that dugout at all.
As Michael Massey led off the game against Gerrit Cole, he rifled a line drive into the dugout as Wacha sat on the bench, shielded by several teammates. They didn’t help him much; the ball rattled off the back wall and struck Wacha in the back of the neck.
Trainers quickly attended to him and walked him around the dugout, but after a brief trip to the tunnel, he stayed in the game.
Royals starter Michael Wacha drilled with friendly fire liner after first inning against Yankees
Wacha’s been Judge’s kryptonite throughout the slugger’s entire career, which continued during the slumping presumptive MVP’s first plate appearance of Thursday’s game. If the Yankees are going to make a real statement, rather than just occasionally scratching runs across, they’re going to need to eventually make Wacha work rather than bothering him for a second every 25 minutes.
In case the Yankees thought Wacha might be rattled by the events of the bottom of the first, he’s clearly a little more unflappable than that. Despite a leadoff Giancarlo Stanton double and a 3-0 count to Jazz Chisholm, the next hitter, Wacha wriggled out of the inning unscathed. Chisholm took a borderline call for strike one, then swung wildly over the top of back-to-back changeups to end his at-bat and neuter the rally. After three frames, he’d retired six batters in a row following the double, shaking off any disaster.
Wacha’s not going away quite that easily, and the Yankees are going to have to continue to outwork him for the remainder of this game. Just keep the liners fair.
