Gerrit Cole tosses playoff gem, shutting down Royals and sending Yankees back to ALCS with 3-1 win

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gerrit Cole pitched like a postseason ace Thursday night, holding the Kansas City Royals to a single run over seven innings and sending the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory that put them back in the American League Championship Series.

The six-time All-Star scattered six hits and struck out four before handing the ball to the New York bullpen, which dominated a tense AL Division Series. Clay Holmes tossed a perfect eighth inning and Luke Weaver breezed through the ninth, extending the scoreless streak by Yankees relievers to 15 2/3 innings this postseason.

New York will play Cleveland or Detroit of the ALCS starting Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

“Proud of these guys,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We get to go play for it now and we're excited about that.”

Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres and Game 3 star Giancarlo Stanton drove in runs for the Yankees, who fittingly clinched a spot in their fourth ALCS in eight years on the road. They won 50 games away from home in the regular season, their most in 21 years.

Michael Wacha failed to get through five innings for Kansas City, allowing two runs, six hits and a walk. He didn't get much help from a long-scuffling offense that managed just five runs total over the final three games of the series.

“In 2023, our season ended here, you know? We didn't get in the postseason,” said Aaron Judge, who secured the final out for New York. “I remember a lot of these guys were looking out on the field, and you know, we all kind of came together and said, ‘It’s not going to happen again.'”

Kansas City did not win a home game after Sept. 8, losing nine in a row including the playoffs.

Still, it was a remarkable turnaround for a club that went from 106-loss laughingstock a year ago to making its first postseason appearance since winning the 2015 World Series. And with young stars such as Bobby Witt Jr. signed to long-term deals, there is hope in Kansas City that this was a beginning rather than an ending.

“Feel really badly for those guys in the room,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said, “because as you know, this is seven, eight months of the year that they just pour it all into it, and give every ounce of effort and energy they have.”

New York set the tone from the start, pouncing on Wacha like it did in the series opener. Torres hit the veteran right-hander's first pitch of the game for a double, and Soto followed with an RBI single on just the third pitch of the night.

Anthony Volpe kept on the pressure with his single in the fifth. And after Alex Verdugo grounded into a forceout and Jon Berti singled to put runners on the corners, Torres lined a two-out single to make it 2-0 and put an end to Wacha's night.

Meanwhile, Cole only seemed to get stronger as he clicked off innings.

The reigning Cy Young Award winner retired his first six batters, worked around a leadoff single in the third and retired eight more before Tommy Pham's single in the fifth. Cole promptly struck out Kyle Isbel on three pitches to end that inning.

“It was a great battle," Cole said. “Just a great battle.”

Stanton, who hit the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning in Game 3, extended the lead to 3-0 with his single in the sixth before tensions that had simmered all night — and all series, after Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. called the Royals' Game 2 win “lucky” — boiled over in the bottom half. Volpe slapped a hard tag on Maikel Garcia at second base to complete a double play, and the Royals third baseman took umbrage with it. Players spilled out of both dugouts before order was restored.

“I just felt like (Garcia) tried to go in and injure Volpe because he was being a sore loser,” Chisholm said. “I didn't like that. I told him that we don't do that on this side, and I'm going to stick up for my guys.”

The near-fracas nearly ignited Kansas City, though. Witt, who had been 1 for 15 in the series, followed with a base hit and Vinnie Pasquantino — who'd been 0 for 14 — had an RBI double. But with the sellout crowd of 39,012 in Kauffman Stadium whipped into a sudden frenzy, Cole got Salvador Perez to pop out lazily to second base to end the inning.

Cole's night ended after he got Isbel to fly out to the warning track with a runner aboard to end the seventh, a deep shot to right field that would have been a tying homer had it been hit to that part of Yankee Stadium.

New York's bullpen did the rest.

“We're in a good place. That doesn't mean we're in a great place,” Stanton said. "We're here to win. Noone wants to be on the losing side of this. Imagine how Kansas City feels right now. Nobody wants to feel that way. We have an opportunity to keep it rolling, but that is understood reality, that we have to take care of business.”

UP NEXT

The Yankees are headed to the ALCS for the 19th time to face the Guardians or Tigers, who play the decisive game of their AL Division Series on Saturday night in Cleveland. LHP Carlos Rodón is lined up to pitch the opener of the ALCS for New York with Cole ready to start Game 2.

The Royals head into the offseason with some momentum. Most of their key players are signed for next season or under club control, though a couple of decisions loom. Wacha could opt out of his deal after a strong season while 2B Adam Frazier has a mutual option and OF Hunter Renfroe a player option for 2025.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge is congratulated by teammates after scoring during the sixth inning in Game 4 of an American League Division baseball playoff series against the Kansas City Royals Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge doubles during the sixth inning in Game 4 of an American League Division baseball playoff series against the Kansas City Royals Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals' Tommy Pham singles during the fifth inning in Game 4 of an American League Division baseball playoff series against the New York Yankees Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg throws during the fifth inning in Game 4 of an American League Division baseball playoff series against the New York Yankees Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez watches from the dugout during the fifth inning in Game 4 of an American League Division baseball playoff series against the New York Yankees Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

New York Yankees' Alex Verdugo scores during the fifth inning in Game 4 of an American League Division baseball playoff series against the Kansas City Royals Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

New York Yankees' Alex Verdugo, left, is congratulated by teammate Aaron Judge after scoring during the fifth inning in Game 4 of an American League Division baseball playoff series against the Kansas City Royals Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge doubles during the sixth inning in Game 4 of an American League Division baseball playoff series against the Kansas City Royals Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Former President Barack Obama gave a blistering critique of his White House successor Donald Trump and urged Black men to show up for Kamala Harris as he campaigned in Pittsburgh on Thursday at the start of a swing-state tour for the Democratic ticket.

At a campaign field office to thank volunteers, Obama said he wanted to “speak some truths” after hearing reports on the ground that there was lower enthusiasm for Harris than there was for his own candidacy and that some Black men were thinking of sitting out the election.

“Part of it makes me think — and I’m speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that,” Obama said.

The former president said Trump’s penchant for putting people down was not real strength.

“You’re thinking about sitting out or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you, because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable,” Obama said.

The Democratic former president made the battleground state of Pennsylvania the first stop of his campaign tour with less than four weeks until Election Day and as voting is already underway. Speaking at a rally at the University of Pittsburgh, he painted Trump as out-of-touch and not the choice to lead the country to change, calling him a “bumbling” billionaire “who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago."

He said Harris is “a leader who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a chance” and declared, “Kamala is as prepared for the job as any nominee for president has ever been."

Obama, eight years out of power, has been one of the Democratic Party’s most reliable surrogates to galvanize voters. Until he was elected president in 2020, Joe Biden had also taken on that role for Democrats, but this year, since ending his reelection campaign and letting Harris ascend to the ticket, he’s yet to hit the trail.

Obama, who received a roaring welcome from the crowd, described Trump’s all-caps posts on social media and his “ranting and the raving about crazy conspiracy theories. The two-hour speeches, word salad, just — it’s like Fidel Castro. Just on and on. Constant attempts to sell you stuff. Who does that?”

Obama listed some of the products Trump has tried to sell during his third White House campaign, including $399 gold sneakers, a $100,000 watch and his “God Bless the USA” Bible for $59.99.

“He wants you to buy the word of God: Donald Trump edition. Got his name right there next to Matthew and Luke,” Obama said, laughing. “You could not make this stuff up.”

As the nation’s first Black president, Obama's appearance for Harris underscores the history-making nature of her own political career. Harris, the first woman, Black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president, would be the first woman to serve as president if elected next month.

His old campaign rallying cry, “Yes, We Can,” was even refashioned for the event, with “Yes, She Can” beaming on a screen over the crowd.

Both Harris and Trump have been vying for support from Black Americans. A recent poll from the  AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 7 in 10 Black voters have a somewhat or very favorable view of Harris, with few differences between Black male and female voters on how they view the Democratic candidate.

Black voters’ opinions of Trump, by contrast, were overwhelmingly negative, according to the poll, but the former president believes his message on the economy, immigration and traditional values can make inroads into the Democrats’ traditional base of support among Black voters, especially younger Black men.

Obama acknowledged that the last few years, starting with the pandemic, have been hard for Americans, with high prices and other impacts putting a squeeze on working families.

“I get it, why people are looking to shake things up. I mean, I am the hopey-changey guy. So I understand people feeling frustrated and feeling we can do better,” Obama said. “What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that is good for you, Pennsylvania.”

He mocked Trump’s answer in the debate that he would replace Obama’s signature health care law, the Affordable Care Act, with “concepts of a plan,” and his running mate JD Vance’s recent comment that Trump worked to “salvage” the law.

“Donald Trump spent his entire presidency trying to tear it down. And by the way, he couldn’t even do that right.”

Obama also referenced a new court filing in the federal election interference case against Trump that said Trump told an aide, “So what?” after being told his vice president, Mike Pence, had been rushed to a safe location after a violent crowd of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“If Donald Trump does not care that a mob might attack his own vice president, do you think he cares about you?” he asked.

Glenda Ellison, a 71-year-old retired schoolteacher and Democrat from Pittsburgh, said she is feeling “a little nervous” about the election but “prayerful that it’s going to turn out in our favor.”

Ellison said she sees Obama as a party spokesperson with a large following who can hopefully sway voters that might be on the fence about voting for Harris.

“As a former president, and also as a Black president, I think that is something that might connect with the African American community, the fact that we do have our Black president supporting another Black candidate,” said Ellison, who is Black.

Obama was among the key Democrats who were part of a behind-the-scenes effort to encourage Biden, his former vice president, to drop out of the 2024 race.

Obama and Harris have been friends for two decades since he ran for Senate in Illinois. She campaigned for him when he sought the presidency in 2008.

Pennsylvania is a state Obama won in his 2008 and 2012 presidential races, but Trump won in 2016. Biden narrowly carried it in 2020 and the state is shaping up to be one of the most closely contested in this year’s race.

Trump was in the eastern part of the state Wednesday for back-to-back rallies in Scranton and Reading. He also campaigned in eastern Pennsylvania over the weekend when he returned to Butler, where he was shot in July as he survived an assassination attempt.

Obama’s appearance at the University of Pittsburgh was also aimed to bolster the reelection campaign of Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, who is being challenged by Trump-endorsed Republican David McCormick.

Former President Barack Obama greets attendees after speaking at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Former President Barack Obama greets attendees before speaking at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Former President Barack Obama greets attendees after speaking at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)