KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Aaron Judge homered for the third consecutive game, Clarke Schmidt allowed just two hits over six innings, and the New York Yankees cruised to a 6-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Paul Goldschmidt added a pair of RBIs during a five-run second inning for New York, which improved to 5-0 against the Royals this season. The Yankees are are 12-3 against them since the start of last season, including their playoff series win.
Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer during a three-run ninth for Kansas City.
Schmidt (3-3) allowed one runner to reach second base, and that was courtesy of his own balk that advanced Maikel Garcia in the first inning. He also struck out seven to remain unbeaten in six regular-season appearances against the Royals. Devin Williams got the final two outs for his eighth save.
Kris Bubic (5-4) looked like he might be in for a duel with Schmidt after a perfect first inning. But he proceeded to allow five runs on four hits and two walks during the second, and ultimately six hits and four walks in just 4 1/3 innings.
Judge's homer off Steven Cruz came on the heels of a two-homer game Sunday against Boston and a 469-foot shot in the series opener against Kansas City on Tuesday night. The two-time MVP has eight RBIs over the three-game span.
Until Perez's homer, the biggest highlight for the Royals came in the fifth inning, when the Yankees loaded the bases with one out. DJ LeMahieu hit a sharp grounder to third base, where Garcia fielded it while falling to his rump. He threw to second from his back side, and a relay by Jonathan India to first base resulted in an inning-ending double play.
Jazz Chisholm, who later left the game with left groin tightness, drew a walk in the second inning after plate umpire Lance Barrett called what would have been the third strike a questionable ball. The Yankees capitalized on their fortunes, sending 10 batters to the plate in what became the decisive inning.
The Royals (34-34) are 10-18 after going on a 16-2 run in April and May.
Yankees RHP Will Warren (4-3, 5.34) starts the series finale Thursday night. RHP Seth Lugo (3-5, 3.46) goes for Kansas City.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez strikes out in the second inning during a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic throws in the first inning during a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt throws in the first inning during a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state of Missouri is losing its third NFL franchise and the second in the past decade, and the decision by the Chiefs on Monday to depart their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium for a new domed facility in Kansas may hurt the most.
The Chiefs announced their intention to move after Kansas lawmakers approved a bond package earlier in the day to help pay for the new facility. It will be built near Kansas Speedway and a retail district known as The Legends in Kansas City, Kansas — only about 30 miles from Arrowhead Stadium, but a distance that has perhaps never felt so far.
“Years ago as a kid, my family was homeless for a while and we lived in a motel not too far from the stadium," said Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, shortly after the team’s announcement. "I knew we struggled, but I believed nothing was cooler than living within a stones' throw of what I thought then and today is the greatest stadium in football.
“Like a lot of parents in Chiefs Kingdom, my single mother scraped some money together to get me to Arrowhead for my first game — 300-level upper deck for a 30-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills in 1993. I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Missouri lawmakers had been desperately trying to keep the Chiefs with their own funding package. They held a special legislative session in June backed by Gov. Mike Kehoe that authorized bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.
Lucas also had been working with local lawmakers in recent days on a counterproposal to keep the Chiefs in Missouri.
“We understand our very fair but very responsible financial offer of taxpayer support was surpassed by an even more robust public financing package in Kansas,” he said. “The Chiefs have a business to run and today made a business decision. We wish them well.”
The previous two NFL teams to leave Missouri were in St. Louis. The Cardinals, who came from Chicago in 1960, left for the Phoenix area in 1988 and now play in a state-of-the-art stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Rams arrived from Anaheim, California, in 1995, then headed to Los Angeles in part because of their inability to secure funding to replace The Dome at America's Center.
The Rams recently built SoFi Stadium in the suburb of Inglewood, California, at a cost of more than $5 billion.
Other professional sports franchises to jilt Missouri include the Athletics of Major League Baseball, who left Kansas City for Oakland, California, following the 1967 season; the Kings of the National Basketball Association, who moved to Sacramento, California, in 1985; and the Kansas City Scouts of the National Hockey League, who eventually became the Colorado Rockies.
Sporting Kansas City, a club in Major League Soccer, once called Arrowhead Stadium home. It now plays its games on the Kansas side of the state line at Children's Mercy Park, close to where the Chiefs are expected to build their new stadium.
“I feel like Kansas won the Super Bowl,” said Ty Masterson, the president of the Kansas Senate.
The Chiefs and Kansas City Royals have played for more than five decades at the Truman Sports Complex, where Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums sit a couple hundred yards apart. Both are revered, the NFL stadium for its tailgating experience and loud home-field advantage, and the Major League Baseball stadium for its picturesque backdrop of glittering outfield fountains.
Both teams have had plenty of recent success there, too.
The Chiefs, who at 6-9 have been eliminated from playoff contention this season, had appeared in the past three Super Bowls and the previous seven conference title games. They have some of the biggest stars in the game, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has led the Chiefs to three Super Bowl titles in five trips to the big game.
The Royals, who won their second World Series in 2015, returned to the playoffs following the 2024 season. They are led by Bobby Witt Jr., one of the bright young stars of the game, and are coming off a second consecutive winning season.
One of the prevailing questions now is whether the Royals will follow the Chiefs across the Kansas-Missouri line.
The Royals insist they will not play at Kauffman Stadium beyond the 2031 season, and their preference has been to build a new downtown ballpark. But a sales tax extension that would have paid for an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium and a new home for the Royals was soundly defeated last year by voters in Jackson County, Missouri, leaving both to look elsewhere.
Through an affiliate, the Royals have purchased the mortgage for a tract of land in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas.
The announcement of the Chiefs' moving to Kansas generated widespread reaction among fans. Some were concerned about the price of tickets in a new facility, others about traffic flow and construction, and still others about the legacy of Arrowhead Stadium.
“I don’t think it is the greatest idea,” said Dustin Allen, who lives in Blue Springs, Missouri, and was visiting Union Station in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday. “I think that where they have it is a very nice spot. I will say that the traffic over there is always fun. I think it’s nice to have them downtown in some way, shape or form.”
Mike Robinson, a season ticket-holder from Kansas City, Kansas, was visiting a science museum inside the train station with his son.
“I’m pretty sure prices will go up,” he said. “That’s what I’m concerned about. A brand new stadium. Season ticket holders may not be able to keep up with their tickets with the rising prices.”
Analaysia Miller, a Chiefs fan from Kansas City, Kansas, didn’t have a strong opinion about the move since the team isn't leaving entirely. The new stadium will be about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of the old one.
“It is just whatever they want to do,” she said as she visited Union Station with her three children. “As long as they are still in our city, representing for our city. That’s all that matters to me.”
Associated Press writers John Hanna, David Lieb and Heather Hollingsworth contributed.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, confers with members of the Legislature's staff before a meeting of legislative leaders to review a proposal for issuing bonds to help the Kansas City Chiefs build a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt watches the start of a meeting of legislative leaders who had the power to decide whether the state issues bonds to help the Chiefs finance a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
