Quatraro, 50, oversaw a stunning turnaround for the Royals, who were coming off a lifeless 56-106 last-place finish in 2023. A similar roster in 2024 became a winning squad under Quatraro's direction, going 86-76 with a second-place finish in the American League Central.

This year's Royals earned a 2-0 sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in the AL wild-card series before dropping an AL Division Series to the New York Yankees three games to one.

Quatraro will have stiff competition in the AL from two divisional rivals, A.J. Hinch of the Detroit Tigers and Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians.

Hinch matched Quatraro by directing an 86-76 club that found postseason success. Hinch's Tigers swept the Houston Astros 2-0 in the other AL wild-card series and pushed the Guardians to five games in the ALDS before losing 3-2.

Meanwhile, the first-place Guardians and Vogt had the most successful season of the bunch, winning 92 games and taking that postseason series with Detroit to make their first AL Championship Series since 2016. They lost in five games (4-1) to the Yankees.

The nominees for the award in the National League were Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers, Mike Shildt of the San Diego Padres and Carlos Mendoza of the New York Mets.

Murphy and Shildt each helmed 93-69 squads that made the postseason. While Murphy saw his season come to an end at the hands of Mendoza's 89-73 Mets, Shildt piloted the Padres to a 2-0 wild-card series win over the Atlanta Braves.

Mendoza's squad went on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 in an NL Division Series to make the NL Championship Series, their first since 2015.

The Royals announced they had agreed to a new contract with Wacha, featuring a club option for 2028, but did not disclose financial terms.

Per the reports, Wacha, 33, will earn $18 million in 2025 and 2026 and $14 million in 2027. According to ESPN, the third year of the deal could be worth an additional $4 million in performance bonuses. The $14 million club option, with a $1 million buyout, includes the same $4 million in incentives.

A 12-year veteran, Wacha was expected to opt out of the final year of his two-year, $32 million deal he signed last winter, ESPN reported. Instead he will remain with the Royals, who reached the postseason but lost to the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series.

The Royals were able to negotiate with Wacha during the five-day quiet period after the World Series when teams can re-sign their pending free agents.

Playing for his sixth team in the last six seasons, Wacha posted strong numbers in 2024, finishing 13-8 in 29 starts with a 3.35 ERA to help Kansas City improve its win total by 30 games over its 2023 record. In 166 2/3 innings, Wacha notched 145 strikeouts and issued 45 walks.

Wacha was drafted No. 19 overall by the Cardinals in 2012 and spent his seven seasons in St. Louis (2013-19) before playing for the New York Mets (2020), Tampa Bay Rays (2021), Boston Red Sox (2022), San Diego Padres (2023) and Royals.

Over his 12 seasons, Wacha is 101-62 with a 3.89 ERA in 278 games (257 starts) with 1,290 strikeouts and 458 walks in 1,454 2/3 innings.

The award is given to the Major League Baseball player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team."

Perez, the first-ever member of the Royals to receive the honor, will be presented with the award during a pregame press conference at Yankee Stadium before Monday night's Game 3 of the World Series between the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees.

Perez was nominated by the Royals for his extraordinary efforts to build healthy and active communities in his native Valencia, Venezuela, as well as in Kansas City.

A nine-time All-Star and former World Series MVP, Perez batted .271 with 27 home runs and 104 RBIs for the Royals this past season. The Royals lost to the Yankees in the American League Division Series.

The award was established in 1973 in honor of Clemente, the first Caribbean-born player and first Latin American to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Commissioner Rob Manfred, Clemente's three children, former players and a panel of journalists help select each year's winner.

Yankees OF Aaron Judge was the recipient of the award in 2023.

After failing to reach the postseason a year ago, the Yankees advanced to the American League Championship Series for the second time in three seasons and for the fourth time since 2017. New York won't learn of its opponent in the ALCS until Saturday, when the Cleveland Guardians are scheduled to host the Detroit Tigers for Game 5 of that ALDS. The Guardians extended their series with a 5-4 victory against the Tigers on Thursday.

The Royals, coming off a 56-106 record in 2023, advanced beyond the wild-card round under manager Matt Quatraro in their first postseason trip since 2015, when they won their franchise's second World Series. Star shortstop Bobby Witt went 2-for-17 (.118) with a walk in the series.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who came in struggling in the postseason after making himself the favorite to win AL MVP in the regular season, hit a hard double in two at-bats, scored a run, walked twice and stole a base.

Benches and bullpens cleared briefly in the bottom of the sixth inning following a slide into second by the Royals' Maikel Garcia and Anthony Volpe's tag for a key double play.

After grinding to a no-decision in the series opener, Cole (1-0) allowed a run and six hits to go with four strikeouts. He kept the Royals off the scoreboard through five innings and pitched out of a jam in the sixth.

New York's bullpen continued to dominate with Clay Holmes taking the eighth and Luke Weaver finishing in the ninth for his third save of the series. Yankees relievers combined to allow zero runs in 15 2/3 innings in the series.

The Yankees scored quickly against right-hander Michael Wacha who, like Cole, also started Game 1. Three pitches into the first inning, Soto lined an RBI single to right, scoring Torres after he had doubled, to give New York a 1-0 lead.

Wacha (0-1) kept the Yankees from adding more until two outs in the fifth, when Torres lined an RBI single to right, knocking in Alex Verdugo from third. Lucas Erceg then replaced Wacha to put out the rally.

Stanton, who hit the go-ahead home run late in Game 3, came through again with an RBI single in the sixth for 3-0 lead.

The Royals pushed across a run in the sixth when Vinnie Pasquantino hit an RBI double to score Witt with two outs, but strong Yankees defense thwarted KC's best chance for a bigger inning.

After Pasquantino's RBI, Salvador Perez popped out to end the inning.

The Yankees lead the best-of-five set two games to one, and they can advance to the AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 on Thursday in Kansas City.

Stanton finished 3-for-5, driving in another run with a double and adding a stolen base. His 12th career postseason homer, a 417-foot shot to left field against left-hander Kris Bubic, came off his bat at 112.9 mph, according to MLB Statcast data. Bubic (0-1) had not allowed a run in three previous appearances during this year's postseason.

New York's bullpen, with Luke Weaver getting the final five outs for his second postseason save, kept the Royals scoreless after the fifth inning. Tommy Kahnle (1-0) got the victory with 1 1/3 perfect innings in relief after following starter Clarke Schmidt and Clay Holmes to the mound.

Kansas City's best late scoring opportunity came in the eighth when Weaver allowed a one-out single to Bobby Witt Jr. and a two-out single to Salvador Perez. Yuli Gurriel flied out to end the inning.

Royals pitchers issued nine walks, and have allowed 22 walks in the series. Yankees batters managed four hits, collectively going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, and he is 1-for-11 with five K's in the series.

Stanton's RBI double got the Yankees on the board against Royals starter Seth Lugo in the fourth, and Juan Soto hit a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead in the fifth.

Kansas City rallied with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Adam Frazier hit an infield single, and the next batter, No. 9 hitter Kyle Isbel, lined an RBI double to left.

Michael Massey followed with an RBI triple to right that barely eluded a diving Juan Soto, getting Kansas City even and sending Kauffman Stadium into a frenzy.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone turned to relief pitcher Holmes, who then walked Witt, the shortstop's first time reaching base in the series in his 13th plate appearance. Vinnie Pasquantino flied out to end the threat.

Game 3 of the best-of-five set is scheduled for Wednesday night in Kansas City.

The only remaining player from Kansas City's 2015 World Series team, Perez forged a 1-1 tie by hammering a 2-0 slider to the back of the left field seats.

It was Perez's sixth career postseason homer and first since Game 5 of the 2015 AL Championship Series.

The veteran catcher's 402-foot drive gives him 13 hits in 28 career at-bats off Rodon (0-1), whom he faced frequently when the Yankees left-hander pitched for the Chicago White Sox.

Following Perez's homer, the Royals continued to pounce on Rodon's slider, as Tommy Pham and Garrett Hampson had run-scoring singles.

Yuli Gurriel followed Perez's drive with a single to left on a 2-2 slider and took second on a wild pitch. After Rodon got the first out of the fourth, Pham lined another slider to center to plate Gurriel for a 2-1 lead, then stole second.

With two outs, Pham easily scored when Hampson hit a slider to left for a 3-1 lead, chasing Rodon from the game in the process. Maikel Garcia added an RBI single off Ian Hamilton, but he got caught in a rundown for the final out of the frame.

Kansas City starter Cole Ragans struggled with command at times but held the Yankees to one run on three hits in four innings before the Royals used four relievers to finish the game. Ragans struck out five and walked four.

Angel Zerpa (2-0) got a double play to end the fifth, and John Schreiber got three flyouts in the sixth for Kansas City.

Kris Bubic pitched two innings, getting Juan Soto to fly out to the warning track to end the seventh and retiring Giancarlo Stanton on a double-play grounder to end the eighth. Lucas Erceg gave up Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s homer to start the ninth and a two-out single to Jon Berti before notching the save.

Rodon allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He didn't issue a walk and fanned seven.

The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the third on Stanton's RBI single.

New York finished 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Michael Massey and Salvador Perez had two hits each for Kansas City (84-74), which helped its American League wild-card chances by winning its second straight game after losing seven in a row.

Both Kansas City and Detroit (also 84-74) won on Wednesday to hold the second and third wild-card spots behind the Baltimore Orioles, who have already clinched a postseason berth.

Lorenzen, making his first start back from a hamstring injury, motioned for a trainer and left the game with one out in the third inning.

Daniel Lynch IV (2-0) tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the win as six Royals pitchers combined on the two-hit shutout. Lucas Erceg pitched the ninth for his 13th save.

The Nationals (69-89) have been shut out three games in a row for the second time in franchise history and have gone 31 innings without a run. Washington has lost eight of nine and scored one run or less in seven of those games.

Nationals starter DJ Herz (4-9) allowed a run on three hits over five innings in the final start of his rookie campaign. Herz made 19 starts and finished with a 4.16 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings.

Kyle Isbel led off the Kansas City third inning with a walk and Tommy Pham singled. Isbel went to third when Bobby Witt Jr. flied out and scored the game's first run when Masey lined a single to right.

Perez led off the sixth with a single against reliever Eduardo Salazar. Yuli Gurriel's hard grounder was deflected by shortstop Nasim Nunez and rolled into left field for a double. Grossman lined a single to center, scoring both runners to make it 3-0. He was 3-for-24 with no RBIs for the Royals before the at-bat.

The Nationals led off with a pair of walks against John Schreiber in the seventh, but he rebounded to strike out Jacob Young and Nasim Nunez, and Dylan Crews flied out to Pham at the wall in right to keep Washington scoreless.

With one out in the 10th and runner Kyle Isbel on second, Bobby Witt, Jr. hit a slow roller to short. Nasim Nunez charged the ball but bounced his throw to first. Witt was safe and Isbel scored the game's first run on the throwing error.

Angel Zerpa (2-0) pitched one inning for the win and Lucas Erceg picked up his 12th save. Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan (3-7) took the loss.

Witt had two hits for the Royals, who have scored one run in their past three games. Kansas City (83-74) and the Detroit Tigers are tied for the last two American League wild-card spots and trail the Baltimore Orioles by four games for the first wild card.

The Nationals (69-88) were shut out for the second straight game and have lost seven of eight. Kansas City went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position; Washington was 0-for-8.

The Royals loaded the bases with no outs in the first but failed to score. Tommy Pham reached on an error and Witt and Salvador Perez singled. Yuli Gurriel smacked a line drive, but Nunez made a leaping catch and doubled Witt off second. Nationals starter Mitchell Parker fielded Freddy Fermin's grounder up the middle behind his back and threw to first for the out.

The Royals had first and second with one out in the third, but Perez struck out. Gurriel walked to load the bases, but Parker got Fermin to ground out.

Washington's Jacob Young doubled with one out in the seventh, went to third on a groundout but was stranded there.

Royals starter Cole Ragans went six scoreless innings while allowing three hits. He walked three and struck out six.

Parker allowed five hits over five scoreless innings for Washington. He walked two and struck out five.

The start of the game was delayed 40 minutes by rain.

A seventh straight defeat dropped the Royals (82-74) into a tie with the Detroit Tigers for the second American League wild-card playoff spot with just six games to play. The Minnesota Twins also had a chance to join the tie by the end of the day pending the result of the second game of their doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox.

The Giants (77-79) did all their scoring against Royals ace Seth Lugo (16-9) in the second after Jerar Encarnacion singled with one out. McCray lashed his triple to right field to open the scoring. One out later, he jogged home on a single by Brett Wisely.

Those were the only two runs and the only three hits the Giants got off Lugo in his seven innings. He struck out five and didn't walk anyone.

Snell (5-3) was even better in his six innings, limiting the Royals to two hits and one walk. He struck out nine in his second consecutive no-run effort and his seventh of the season.

Sean Hjelle struck out the side in the seventh for the Giants, before Tyler Rogers survived a bases-loaded scare in the eighth in which he walked Bobby Witt Jr. intentionally with two on and two away in order to face Salvador Perez. Rogers got the standout catcher to pop out to retain the shutout.

The Royals also threatened in the ninth against Giants closer Ryan Walker, who hit MJ Melendez with a pitch leading off the inning. But facing the potential tying run in three straight at-bats, Walker struck out Hunter Renfroe, got Yuli Gurriel to ground out and induced a popout from Michael Massey to lock down his ninth save.

McCray's triple was the only extra-base hit in a game that featured just six total hits, three by each team.

Landen Roupp (1-1) picked up his first career major league win after scattering three hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out three. The 26-year-old was making his 22nd appearance (third start) of the season for San Francisco.

Wade homered in the first inning and joined Chapman in going deep in the fourth. Chapman added his team-leading 26th homer of the season in the sixth to celebrate his return from the paternity list following the birth of his daughter.

Yastrzemski launched a three-run homer and Curt Casali added a two-run single to highlight a six-run sixth inning for the Giants (76-79), who have won four of their past five games.

The reeling Royals (82-73), in turn, are heading in the opposite direction. Kansas City had five hits and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position en route to losing its sixth game in a row. The Royals have also dropped 15 of their past 22.

Wade deposited a first-pitch fastball from Kansas City starter Brady Singer (9-12) over the wall in right to open the scoring in the first inning. Wade doubled the advantage to lead off the fourth, sending an 0-1 sweeper from Singer over the wall in right once again.

Wade has eight homers on the season and three in his career vs. Singer.

Chapman followed by depositing a 2-2 sinker from Singer over the wall in center field to give San Francisco a 3-0 lead. Chapman wasn't done, striking again in the sixth by sending a 1-2 slider from Singer over the wall in left for his fourth homer in his past eight games.

Casali's two-run single off Carlos Hernandez closed the book on Singer, who took the loss after yielding six runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Yastrzemski sent an 0-2 knuckle curve from Hernandez over the wall in right field for his 18th homer of the season.

Mason Black pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his first major league victory. Patrick Bailey also drove in a run as the Giants (75-79) won for the third time in the past four games.

Bobby Witt Jr. had three hits for Kansas City to raise his major league-leading average to .334. The Royals have dropped five straight games and 14 of their past 21 but remain in possession of the American League's second wild-card spot.

Kansas City threatened in the ninth as Giants closer Camilo Doval threw eight straight balls to Yuli Gurriel and Robbie Grossman to start the inning.

Adam Frazier struck out before Maikel Garcia hit a grounder to shortstop. Tyler Fitzgerald couldn't get the ball out of his glove and Grossman beat his throw to second to load the bases.

Garrett Hampson then hit a liner down the third-base line that was narrowly foul -- it would have at least tied the game -- before hitting a sacrifice fly to right to score Gurriel. Doval then struck out Tommy Pham to notch his 23rd save.

Ramos fell a homer short of the cycle, and Casey Schmitt added two hits for the Giants.

Black (1-4) struck out four and gave up four hits and one walk. Sean Hjelle got the final out in the sixth, Erik Miller struck out two in the seventh and Tyler Rogers worked around a hit from Witt in the eighth to keep the Royals off the board.

Kansas City's Michael Wacha (13-8) gave up two runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one while losing for just the second time in his last 11 decisions.

San Francisco's Mike Yastrzemski led off the game with a single and Mark Canha followed with a walk. Yastrzemski moved to third on a flyout before Ramos reached on an infield hit to score Yastrzemski.

San Francisco added a run in the sixth. Ramos slugged a two-out double to center and scored when Patrick Bailey sent a ground single through the right side to end Wacha's night.

Witt singled to lead off the Kansas City sixth and Black retired the next two hitters. However, the latter one was Michael Massey's deep fly to the warning track in right and Giants manager Bob Melvin quickly came out to remove Black.

Hjelle retired Gurriel on a grounder to end the inning.

In the wild-card chase, Detroit (80-73) closed the gap to two games behind Kansas City (82-71) and a half game behind the Minnesota Twins (80-72) for the third and final wild-card spot. Minnesota lost to the Cleveland Guardians in 10 innings.

After allowing three hits and a run in the first inning, Skubal held the Royals hitless over his final four innings, permitting just one runner past first base.

Skubal (17-4) completed five innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. His 221 strikeouts lead the majors, and he leads the American League in wins and ERA, at 2.48.

Yuli Gurriel's sharp two-out single put the Royals ahead 1-0 in the first.

Kansas City gifted the tying run in the second with a walk to Zach McKinstry, who advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Jake Rogers' infield hit plus pitcher Alec Marsh's throwing error.

Greene blasted a 427-foot homer over the right field bullpen to open a three-run third inning. His 24 home runs lead the Tigers, and he has four homers and 11 RBIs in his last 10 games.

Trey Sweeney added a two-run double for a 4-1 lead to chase Marsh (8-9), who allowed four runs -- three earned -- on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings.

Kansas City cut Detroit's lead to 4-2 in the eighth as Salvador Perez followed Bobby Witt Jr.'s bloop double with an RBI single. It was Witt's 87th extra-base hit of the season, most ever by a Royals hitter.

Will Vest retired the last two hitters for his second save as Detroit's bullpen tossed 13-of-14 scoreless innings during the Tigers' first sweep in Kansas City since June 14-16, 2021.

Detroit has won nine of its last 11 and is a major league-best 25-10 since Aug. 11.

The Royals lost their fourth straight, suffering their first home sweep of the year.

After Lucas Erceg (2-6) balked Trey Sweeney to third base with one out, Meadows dropped a broken-bat hit into shallow left field for the Tigers, who have won eight of 10. Riley Greene's two-out single capped the scoring.

In the wild-card race, Detroit (79-73) remained 1 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins, who beat the Cleveland Guardians and climbed to three games behind Kansas City (82-70) for the No. 2 wild card.

Tyler Holton (7-1) recorded six outs without allowing a baserunner and Jason Foley earned his 25th save with a hitless 10th.

The Tigers struck early, taking a 1-0 lead when Andy Ibáñez was hit by a pitch to open the game and scored on Matt Vierling's double to the left-field wall.

The Royals tied the game in the third when Bobby Witt Jr. walked with two outs and scored on Michael Massey's hit. Meadows prevented a big inning by running down Hunter Renfroe's deep drive at the center-field wall.

The Tigers forced starter Cole Ragans to pitch out of the stretch throughout his seven innings, often with runners in scoring position. Ragans matched a season high with four walks, permitting a run on four hits and striking out six.

Tigers starter Casey Mize allowed a run on six hits and four walks, with three strikeouts. He left with one out in the fifth after Tommy Pham's single and two walks loaded the bases.

Witt stole his 30th base of the year, becoming the first shortstop in major league history with two seasons of at least 30 homers and 30 steals.

In losing their third straight, the Royals grounded into three double plays. Despite loading the bases in the fifth and sixth, Kansas City failed to score.

After pinch hitter Wenceel Perez's two-run double tied the game at 6, Vierling collected his third hit, an opposite-field line drive to right, highlighting a three-run frame against reliever Sam Long (3-2).

Trailing 4-0, Detroit began their comeback in the fourth on Zach McKinstry's triple and Trey Sweeney's sacrifice fly, then added three in the fifth, highlighted by Colt Keith's 13th homer, a two-run shot to right-center.

The Tigers collected four hits in the fifth to chase Royals starter Seth Lugo, who threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits.

Despite allowing four baserunners over the final three innings, relievers Brenan Hanifee (1-1), Will Vest and Bo Brieske held the Royals scoreless over the final four innings, then Jason Foley earned his 24th save with a hitless ninth.

Loading the bases to open the third, Kansas City took a 4-0 lead when Bobby Witt Jr. lifted Reese Olson's one-out curveball into the left field stands.

Returning from a right shoulder strain to pitch for the first time since July 20, Olson threw 2 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

In the fourth, MJ Melendez tripled and scored on pinch-hitter Maikel Garcia's single through a drawn-in infield for a 5-1 advantage.

After Kyle Isbel opened the fifth with a triple to right, Witt added a fifth RBI on an infield single -- his 200th hit of the year -- for a 6-4 Royals lead.

Isbel and Yuli Gurriel each had two hits for Kansas City (82-69), which fell five games behind division-leading Cleveland.

Royals reliever James McArthur exited the game in the seventh with right elbow tightness.

Pirates starter Jared Jones went four innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits, while striking out five and walking three. The Pittsburgh bullpen allowed just two hits over five scoreless innings as the Pirates (71-78) snapped a two-game skid.

Brady Singer (9-11) pitched five innings of four-run, six-hit ball, striking out six and walking four for Kansas City. Maikel Garcia went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Michael Massey also had two hits, as the Royals (82-68), who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Kansas City is in possession of the American League's second wild-card berth, and stands two games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the battle for the top spot.

Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, as Kiner-Falefa's leadoff single was followed by Bryan Reynolds' RBI double.

Kansas City loaded the bases in the top of the second as Massey led off with a walk, before Paul DeJong's single and Frazier's base on balls. Yuli Gurriel then drove in Massey with a game-tying sacrifice fly.

Still tied at one in the top of the fourth, Gurriel and Garcia hit consecutive one-out doubles to push the Royals ahead, 2-1.

Nick Gonzales tied the score again for Pittsburgh with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fourth.

Carmen Mlodzinski (3-5) replaced Jones for the top of the fifth, throwing a perfect inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, Billy Cook led off with a single. Taking off for second with the pitch, Cook then scored the go-ahead run on Kiner-Falefa's single to center field. Singer then struck out Reynolds, before walking Oneil Cruz and striking out Andrew McCutchen.

After walking Joey Bart to load the bases, Singer issued his third walk in four batters to Rowdy Tellez, giving the Pirates a 4-2 advantage.

With Colin Holderman pitching the top of the sixth, Bobby Witt Jr. drew a bases-loaded walk to trim Kansas City's deficit to 4-3.

In the top of the ninth, Aroldis Chapman retired Witt on a grounder, struck out Salvador Perez and got Robbie Grossman to ground out for his ninth save of the year.

Wacha (13-7) allowed just one run on four hits, while striking out eight and walking three.

The Royals (82-67) won their seventh game in nine tries and secured the three-game series win heading into Sunday's finale.

Mitch Keller (11-10) gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits over six innings. The Pittsburgh starter struck out six and walked one. Bryan Reynolds and Jared Triolo each tallied a pair of hits for the Pirates (70-78), who lost their second straight.

Kansas City began the scoring two batters in as Witt launched his 31st homer of the season, a solo shot off Keller.

Neither team scored again until the fifth, when Adam Frazier's leadoff triple was followed by Maikel Garcia's RBI double for the Royals. After Kyle Isbel was hit by a pitch, he and Garcia pulled off a double steal with one out.

Witt drove in Garcia on a sac fly, extending the Royals' lead to 3-0.

Triolo began the home half of the fifth with a single before advancing to second on Isiah Kiner-Falefa's single two batters later. After Reynolds struck out, Oneil Cruz's run-scoring single to center accounted for Pittsburgh's only run.

The Royals got that run back in the sixth, when Michael Massey's leadoff double was followed by Triolo's fielding error on Freddy Fermin's ground ball, allowing Massey to score Kansas City's fourth run.

After Keller was replaced by Carmen Mlodzinski for the seventh, Isbel greeted the reliever with a leadoff double before scoring on Cruz's fielding error.

The Pirates threatened in the eighth but came up empty. With James McArthur pitching for Kansas City, Nick Gonzales led off with a single. Two batters later, Yasmani Grandal walked and Triolo singled to load the bases with one out.

Kris Bubic replaced McArthur, striking out Joey Bart and Kiner-Falefa to escape the jam.

Stratton allowed two runs on three hits in the ninth inning of Kansas City's 8-3 victory over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

He is 4-3 with four saves and a 5.55 ERA in 57 relief appearances this season.

Stratton, 34, is 41-27 with 16 saves and a 4.53 ERA in 359 career appearances (42 starts) with the San Francisco Giants (2016-18), Los Angeles Angels (2019), Pirates (2019-22), St. Louis Cardinals (2022-23), Texas Rangers (2023) and Royals.

Zerpa, 24, is 1-0 with a 4.40 ERA in 53 relief appearances this season with Kansas City.

He is 6-5 with a 4.09 ERA in 72 career appearances (six starts) with the Royals.

Marsh (8-8) allowed just one run on five hits, while striking out 11 and walking two. Salvador Perez and Kyle Isbel each homered and tallied two hits, both driving in two runs. Tommy Pham also drove in two, guiding the Royals (81-67) to their sixth win in eight tries.

For Pittsburgh (70-77), Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz each tallied two hits and an RBI, as the Pirates had their four-game winning streak snapped. Joey Bart went 1-for-3 with a run driven in.

After a scoreless first, Robbie Grossman led off the top of the second with a walk against Pittsburgh starter Luis Ortiz. Adam Frazier then reached on Ortiz's throwing error before Yuli Gurriel's RBI single scored the game's first run.

Isbel followed with a run-scoring double to right, scoring Frazier. Pham then doubled the Royals lead with a two-run single, becoming the fifth straight Kansas City baserunner off Ortiz.

After Bobby Witt Jr. lined out, Perez launched his 27th homer of the year, a two-run shot that ballooned Kansas City's lead to 6-0.

In the top of the fourth, Isbel belted his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot to give the Royals a 7-0 lead.

Joey Wentz replaced Ortiz after he allowed seven run (four earned) in four innings on five hits. Ortiz struck out five and walked a pair.

Pittsburgh's first offensive threat came in the bottom of the fifth, when De La Cruz and Jared Triolo singled to put runners on the corners. But Marsh struck out Reynolds to escape the jam, picking up his 11th strikeout through five innings.

Cruz led off the bottom of the sixth with a double for Pittsburgh and two batters later, Bart's RBI single cracked the scoreboard for the Pirates, chasing Marsh after 96 pitches.

Frazier added a solo homer in the top of the eighth, his fourth of the season, while Reynolds' sacrifice fly and Cruz's RBI single tallied a pair of Pittsburgh runs in the bottom of the ninth.

Chisholm hit a line drive into the hole at short against a drawn-in infield that shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. made a diving stop on but Berti, who pinch ran for automatic runner Gleyber Torres and had advanced to third on Juan Soto's groundout, easily beat Witt's throw to the plate for the game-winner.

It was the first walk-off hit of Chisholm's career. Soto reached the 100-RBI mark for the second straight season and the third time in his career with a two-run homer for New York (84-62). With the win, the Yankees extended their first-place lead in the American League East to 1 1/2 games over the Baltimore Orioles.

Soto joined Aaron Judge (126) as the first pair of Yankees teammates to have 100-plus RBIs in a season since 2011 when Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira all accomplished the feat.

Luke Weaver (5-3) struck out three while pitching 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win for the Yankees.

Michael Massey homered and Tommy Pham went 3-for-4 with a walk for Kansas City (80-67), which dropped 4 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland in the A.L. Central. Kris Bubic (0-2) suffered the loss.

Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on Massey's 13th home run of the season, a 375-foot drive to right off Yankees starter Luis Gil.

New York took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning on Soto's 39th homer, a 402-foot drive to right, driving in Torres, who had walked. The hit came one pitch after Soto collapsed on his knees after hopping halfway up the first base line after fouling a pitch off the inside of his right ankle. Soto remained down for several minutes before staying in the game and then blasting a 2-2 knuckle curve by Royals starter Cole Ragans deep into the right field bleachers.

Kansas City tied it, 2-2, in the seventh off New York reliever Clay Holmes when Kyle Isbel led off with a single, advanced to second on a single by Pham, advanced to third on a flyout to right by Witt and scored on a sacrifice fly by Salvador Perez.

The Royals took a 3-2 lead in the 10th inning when automatic runner Dairon Blanco, pinch-running for Pham, stole third and scored on a wild pitch by Jake Cousins.

The Yankees tied it in the bottom of the 10th when Oswaldo Cabrera sacrificed automatic runner Anthony Volpe to third and pinch-hitter Austin Wells then drove him in with a sacrifice fly.

Lugo (16-8) yielded three hits and no walks in his 105-pitch outing. He tied Atlanta's Chris Sale and Detroit's Tarik Skubal for the major league lead in wins and became Kansas City's first pitcher to win 16 games since Jason Vargas went 18-11 in 2017.

The Royals (80-66) won for the fifth time in six games overall.

Lugo allowed a leadoff single to Gleyber Torres in the first inning, then retired 17 straight until Torres singled again with two outs in the sixth. After allowing Torres' second hit, Lugo retired Juan Soto on a fly ball to deep left.

New York's Austin Wells singled with one out in the seventh. Lugo retired Giancarlo Stanton on a fly ball, and then struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. to end the inning.

The veteran right-hander notched his fourth double-digit strikeout game of the season and finished two shy of his career high. Lugo did not issue a walk for the third time this season and threw 77 of 105 pitches for strikes.

Bobby Witt Jr. had an RBI single in the third off New York's Marcus Stroman (10-8), and Salvador Perez followed with an RBI single. Perez also hit a run-scoring single in the fifth. He has five RBIs in the past two games after going 4-for-4 in with a homer in Kansas City's 10-4 loss on Monday.

Tommy Pham added a solo homer in the seventh. Pinch hitter Maikel Garcia contributed a sacrifice fly after pinch runner Dairon Blanco stole two bases in the eighth.

Kris Bubic and John Schreiber pitched an inning apiece to finish off Kansas City's ninth shutout of the year.

Stroman allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander struck out four, walked two and dropped his second straight start after winning his previous three decisions.

The Yankees (83-62) were blanked for the eighth time this season and only the second time since the All-Star break. Aaron Judge (0-for-4) went homerless for the 14th straight game as the Yankees tied a season low by getting held to three hits.