Royals lose to Yankees as Barlow gives up a walk-off homer to Judge in a 1-0 thriller

Brady Singer deserved better than a no-decision, but the Kansas City Royals couldn’t scratch across a run and the New York Yankees’ MVP candidate Aaron Judge delivered his third walk-off homer of the season.

The Royals traded away their most consistent hitter in Andrew Benintendi, had their rising star shortstop and future face of the franchise Bobby Witt Jr. sidelined due to a hamstring issue and their star catcher Salvador Perez played in a minor-league game a four-hour drive away.

Even without those key bats in their lineup, it might have only taken one or two clutch hits to change the outcome of the game. Instead the Royals fell 1-0 to the Yankees in front of an announced 43,836 in the opener of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night.

The Royals (39-60) hadn’t lost a game that Singer started since the start of July, and Singer gave them reason to believe they had the big bad Yankees’ number.

Singer pitched seven scoreless innings, struck out 10 and allowed a lone hit against arguably the most dangerous lineup in the majors.

“Attack them, but be smart about what you’re doing,” said Singer, describing his approach against the vaunted Yankees lineup. “That walk to Judge there (in the first inning), I didn’t mind. But just be careful with the guys. Make the pitches that you need to make and miss on the right side.”

The Yankees came into the night leading MLB with 168 home runs in 99 games, which ties a franchise record. They have now homered in 13 consecutive games and scored a total of 121 runs in their last 19. And they just added one of the premier on-base men and line-drive hitters in the AL to the top of their lineup: Benintendi.

It didn’t matter, as Singer allowed just three men to reach base on a single, a walk and a hit by pitch.

“That’s just the best we’ve seen him,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Singer. “You look, real quick going over some of the data, at how few times he was even close to the middle of the plate and how he was living on the edges, the kind of movement he had. You could see the reaction from the hitters just on his sinker, then opened up the slider. It was impressive.”

In his last two starts (13 innings), Singer has struck out 22 batters, and he has walked just three batters.

Yankees batters swung and missed at Singer’s slider 10 times, and 48% of their swings on that pitch were misses.

“I feel like with his fastball and his slider, they’re just going two different directions,” Royals catcher MJ Melendez said. “They look the exact same out of the hand. So, definitely, being able to see some pretty ugly swings on that slider is a result of how he throws his fastball.”

Singer started the night by striking out Benintendi on three pitches, including a called third strike on a 95 mph fastball.

In two previous starts against the Yankees, Singer had gone 0-1 with a 8.59 ERA (seven earned runs in 7 1/3 innings pitched). Both starts came last season.

“I like this stadium. I like this atmosphere,” Singer said. “So it’s definitely cool to do it here.”

Not enough out of the offense

The Royals left eight men on base in the game and went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Thursday’s loss was the third consecutive game that the Royals have failed to score a run.

Yankees starting pitcher Jameson Taillon held the Royals scoreless for six innings. He allowed four hits and two walks.

Taillon also struck out eight in those six innings, including five called third strikes on a night when home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus heard some chirping from the dugout about his strike zone.

“I think both sides were getting wide,” Matheny said. “It’s still frustrating. To go tell guys to start swinging at pitches off the plate is not a good process. You keep complaining, but knowing that we’re getting it on the defensive side from the mound as well. It’s just one of those when the umpire did set a wide zone today, one that was different than what we’ve seen most of the season.”

Melendez had two hits (2 for 3), including a double, and a walk. Nick Pratto went 1 for 3 with a triple and a walk, while Vinnie Pasquantino had a hit, a walk and reached on an error.

Melendez had a similar reaction to Matheny when asked about whether the wider zone warranted a more aggressive approach.

“I think it’s just staying in your approach,” Melendez said. “You can’t really change because of something that you can’t really control. Staying within our own self and staying within our zone is going to pay off in the long run.”

The Royals put two men on in the first inning with the help of a walk and a fielding error, but came away empty. Then in the second inning, Pratto belted a one-out triple off the right field wall. But the Royals stranded him on third base after Maikel Garcia hit a fly ball too shallow to tag up on and then Kyle Isbel struck out looking.

Barlow gets burned on bad location

Royals reliever Dylan Coleman mowed down Yankees hitters in the eighth inning, using a fastball that reached 100 mph multiple times in a scoreless frame that included two strikeouts as he retired the side in order.

In the ninth, Royals closer Scott Barlow got Benintendi to fly out in foul territory for the first out of the inning.

Then Barlow tried to get ahead with a first-pitch fastball to Judge, a free-agent-to-be who is batting .293 with 39 home runs and 83 RBIs in 97 games, but Barlow missed his intended location.

Barlow never got a chance to make up for that mistake as it landed 431 feet away.

“I made some good pitches to Benintendi, got him to fly out to left,” Barlow said. “Then with Judge, trying to get ahead. Strike one. Fastball down and away — I just got done watching the video — it just leaked right back middle and it’s what he hits really well.”

Salvy’s return on the horizon

Royals catcher Salvador Perez continued his minor-league rehab assignment on Thursday with Triple-A Omaha in Syracuse, N.Y. Perez has not played since June 24. And he had surgery on his left thumb that was expected to sideline him for eight weeks.

However, Perez has progressed more quickly than expected. While he was not in New York City, he did have a locker and a jersey in the Royals clubhouse prior to Thursday’s series opener.

“He’s supposed to get some more at-bats tonight, but he’s getting close to coming here and joining us,” Matheny said.

Witt progressing

The Royals recalled shortstop Maikel Garcia prior to Thursday’s game and started him at shortstop. Bobby Witt Jr. continues to increase his pre-game workload each day since leaving a game last weekend due to hamstring tightness.

He hasn’t played since Sunday, but he took part in the full pregame workout for the first time on Thursday, including taking batting practice on the field.

Garcia’s presence allowed the Royals to give Nicky Lopez a day off. Lopez has been playing through nagging injuries, and Matheny admitted he likely would have had a day off before Thursday if not for Witt’s injury.