Ryan McMahon to the Rescue! NY 4 KC 2

April 18, 2026 paperbacklou 2026 0
Ryan McMahon lofts a ball high into the sky and into the left-field seats for a 2-run HR in bottom of 8th, putting NY up 4-2.

Ryan McMahon — who has been blamed for just about every Yankee loss this season due to a slow hitting start — hit a HIGH FLY to opposite-field left for a 2-run Homer in the bottom of the 8th, breaking a 2-2 tie and carrying the Yanks to a 4-2 win over the Royals on a Friday night in the Bronx.

A warm 85-degree day was just in the process of dropping 20 degrees cooler as swirling winds got heavy in city the half hour leading up to the HR — whether they carried the ball is hard to tell. But the Yanks had their win after David Bednar pitched a non-agita 9th inning for the save.

NY had led in the game 2-0 due to a Ben Rice rocket homerun against swirling winds and warm temps in the 4th off KC Ace and Yankee-nemesis Michael Wacha.

Those were the only 2 runs Wacha allowed, but he was out-dueled by Cam Schlittler, who pitched a masterpiece for NY — 6 innings of 3-hit ball — allowing just 1 unearned run due to a Trent Grisham gaffe in the 6th. Grisham got back on a fly in the swirling wind to deep center, but dropped it.

Brent Headrick pitched a heroic inning of relief in the 7th — relieving Schlittler with 1st and 2nd, nobody-out, and getting out of the jam. But Camilo Doval got clipped for a game-tying HR by Vinnie Pasquantino with 2 outs in the top of the 8th, making it 2-2 and clearing the deck for McMahon’s heroics as the winds picked up.

“You get excited for people,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards about McMahon. “He put a good swing on it, on a crazy night. Look he’s had success in the league for a while, so he knows he’s capable. But man when you’re going through it, it can be tough. I feel like he’s hit that same ball — he’s hit a couple of balls to left where he’s been close like that, and this one he gets enough of. Just excited for him to come up in such a big spot.”

On Ben Rice, Boone said, “He just rakes.”

NY improves to 11-9, .5 behind Tampa in the AL East. KC falls to 7-13.

1. Wacha Tough — But Rice Rice Baby

Michael Wacha started for KC, and the 6’6, 34-year-old righty was tough on the Yankees as usual — pitching a shutout into the 4th inning.

He was mixing his usual assortment of pitches — a 91-MPH sinker, 85-MPH slider, 92-MPH four-seam fastball, 89-MPH cutter, 80-MPH changeup, and 74-MPH curve to baffle Yankee batters.

Aaron Judge ripped a 1-out double off Wacha in the 1st, but Wacha struck out Cody Bellinger and got Giancarlo Stanton to pop out.

Wacha struck out Ben Rice on 3 pitches in the 2nd on a fastball, curve, and changeup.

But in the 4th, Cody Bellinger led off with a single, and Ben Rice RIPPED a 1-1 changeup into the right-field seats for a 2-0 Yankee lead.

After that, Wacha continued to be tough — working around 2 walks in the 5th (to Jose Caballero and Aaron Judge) and throwing a 1-2-3 inning in the 6th to finish with 6 innings of 3-hit ball, allowing the 2 runs.

2. Schlittler Pitches a Gem

Meanwhile, Cam Schlittler was better — shutting out KC through 5 innings with his 97-MPH four-seam fastball and sinker, and 80-MPH curveball. He struck out 6.

Cam’s exceptional curveball plays well — and even better when batters are expecting 98-MPH heat.

3. Grisham Error Leads to Unearned Run in 6th

Schlittler had a 2-hit shutout going into the 6th when with 1 out he walked Maikel Garcia, and Bobby Witt Jr. hit a drive into the swirling wind to center that Trent Grisham got back on — but dropped — putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out.

Schlittler got Vinnie Pasquantino to ground out — but it scored a run to make it 2-1 — and then struck out Salvador Perez to end the inning.

4. Headrick Relieves Schlittler & Gets Out of Jam in 7th

Schlittler tired in the top of the 7th — walking leadoff batter Jensen and then allowing a single to right by Thomas on a 1-2 pitch — a 98-MPH fastball.

Big 6’6 lefty Brent Headrick came into the 2-1 game with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out, and struck out Caglianone on 3 pitches — all 84-MPH sliders. He then got Jonathan India to foul out to 1st.

With 2 outs, Headrick tried to pick Jensen off 2nd but his throw got away and Jensen went to 3rd.

With and runners on 1st and 3rd and 2 outs in the 2-1 game — Headrick got Marte to ground the ball back to him — and rifled a strike to 1st for the out. Huge relief job by Headrick.

5. Doval Good But Gets Clipped by Pasquantino HR in 8th

As the game entered the 8th — the winds, which had been swirling in the warm air all night — started to get heavy, with strong bursts, and the temperature started to drop.

Camilo Doval came in for the hold in the top of the 8th — and looked good, getting the first 2 outs by striking out Maikel Garcia and getting Bobby Witt Jr. to fly out. But Vinnie Pasquantino ripped a 97-MPH sinker into the short porch in right for a tie game at 2-2.

6. McMahon HR Puts Yanks Up 4-2

That set the scene for Ryan McMahon, who had entered the game in the top of the 8th as a defensive replacement at 3rd base for Amed Rosario.

Alex Lange, a 30-year-old, 6’3 righty came in to pitch for KC. He got the first 2 outs — getting Bellinger to ground out and striking out Giancarlo Stanton on 4 pitches — a knuckle curve and 3 96-MPH fastballs.

But Ben Rice ripped a 2-2 changeup to right for a single, and McMahon tagged a 2-1 changeup HIGH in the SKY to left and into the left-field seats for a 4-2 Yankee lead!

Yankee teammates were ecstatic.

7. Bednar the Non-Agita Save

David Bednar pitched the top of the 9th — walking Carter Jensen on 5 pitches, but then getting Lane Thomas to hit a soft liner to 2nd for an easy out, and then striking out Jac Caglianone and Jonathan India for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401814974

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