KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If Michael Massey had any lingering doubts about how different playoff baseball is, they were erased as he popped up from his slide into third base after rocketing the game-tying RBI triple to right field Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
“That was incredible,” Massey said. “I remember when I was on third base with Vance Wilson, I just remember telling him, ‘I can't hear a thing. This is one of the coolest moments of my life.’ It was so loud that I heard nothing.”
The Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees have played three American League Division Series Games, which have collectively been decided by four runs.
By virtue of one-run victories in Games 1 and 3, the Yankees have pushed the Royals, who won 4-2 in Game 2, to the brink of elimination in the best-of-five series.
“Every play matters,” Massey said. “You hear it, but we've had some good examples of it the last couple nights. We’ve just got to keep going and, hopefully, we're on the right end of those moving forward.”
It could be overwhelming for Kansas City’s young corps of field players, but the veteran pitching staff, including three-time World Series champion reliever Will Smith, know how to keep the locker-room mood light.
“Last night, it was Will again — ‘I've seen the Royals win two games in a row,’” Massey deadpanned. “Obviously, it's frustrating to lose, especially as intense of a game as it was last night. To be on the wrong end of that, it's tough then to have to come back and do it again 24 hours later. It's important to have guys like that (Smith) that have that mindset and can kind of put your mindset back in the right spot.”
Massey did his best not to change his routine ahead of Game 4, which will either send the Royals on to a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday in New York or into the offseason.
“Coming back to the park today, when I wake up, I get my cup of coffee, I hang out, I watch the Weather Channel then I come to the park and do everything that I've done for the past 162 games and playoffs,” Massey said.
Wait, the Weather Channel?
“The hurricanes, I'm fascinated,” Massey explained as he smiled and explained that it wasn’t a regular thing. “No, I try not to be 65 years old.”
Massey hopes Kansas City’s fans provide as much energy Thursday as the Royals seek to extend their season.
“The fans have been incredible all year, just their support even throughout the regular season,” Massey said. “Everyone always asks why we play so well at home, and I think they deserve a lot of that credit because 162 games is a long time. You get tired. You're beat up. Your body hurts. To have that extra jolt from the fans and that energy in the stadium is huge. Last night was like nothing I've seen before.”
To extend their season, the Royals will have to go through Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who got tagged for four runs — three earned — in five innings, allowing seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts in Game 1.
Cole took a no-decision as New York prevailed 6-5.
“He's one of the best in the game, obviously, so it's no easy task to go against him,” Massey said. “I felt like we had a pretty good game plan the first time. I'm sure he's going to make some adjustments, so we're going to have to stay locked in in the dugout and see what he's doing differently, if anything.”
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