KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Pablo Reyes stumbled, stopped and still scrambled home safely on a wild play in the eighth inning Thursday night, taking advantage of a throwing error by reliever Lucas Erceg to give the New York Yankees a 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
New York completed a three-game sweep to finish 6-0 against the Royals this season after eliminating them 3-1 in their best-of-five playoff series last October.
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New York Yankees' Pablo Reyes, left, scores against Kansas City Royals catcher Freddy Fermin, right, in the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
New York Yankees' Pablo Reyes, right, scores against Kansas City Royals catcher Freddy Fermin, left, in the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
New York Yankees' Pablo Reyes, right, runs home to score in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Royals' Nick Loftin, right, slides into third with a triple past New York Yankees third baseman Oswald Peraza, left, in the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo throws in the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Backed by some brilliant defense, Will Warren and four relievers combined on a five-hitter as the AL East-leading Yankees (42-25) moved a season-high 17 games over .500. They have the best road record in the majors at 21-13.
Mark Leiter Jr. (4-3) got one out for the win, and Devin Williams earned his ninth save with a perfect ninth. He threw a called third strike past Jac Caglianone to end it, freezing the touted rookie with a full-count fastball.
The game was interrupted by rain for 28 minutes in the top of the sixth.
With two on and two outs in the eighth, Paul Goldschmidt lined a single off the glove of leaping first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. He tracked down the ball behind him and threw to Erceg (1-2) covering first, but Goldschmidt beat the play.
Reyes lost his balance coming around third, changed direction twice and then slid home safely when Erceg bounced his throw to the plate.
Both starters pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Seth Lugo allowed just two hits, while Warren permitted four.
Pasquantino extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games and his on-base streak to a career-best 27 games.
New York rested Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells, who were a combined 7 for 23 with three homers and 10 RBIs in the first two games of the series.
The Royals squandered two excellent chances to take their first lead of the series. In the second inning, they had runners on first and second with nobody out. In the fifth, they had a runner at third with one out.
New York swept a season series from the Royals for the third time in their 57-year history. ... The Yankees have won 19 of the past 20 series between the teams.
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough (3-1, 4.17 ERA) faces Boston LHP Garrett Crochet (6-4, 2.35) in the opener of a three-game series Friday night at Fenway Park.
Royals RHP Michael Wacha (3-5, 3.01 ERA) starts Friday at home against Athletics RHP Luis Severino (1-6, 4.77).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
New York Yankees' Pablo Reyes, left, scores against Kansas City Royals catcher Freddy Fermin, right, in the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
New York Yankees' Pablo Reyes, right, scores against Kansas City Royals catcher Freddy Fermin, left, in the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
New York Yankees' Pablo Reyes, right, runs home to score in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Royals' Nick Loftin, right, slides into third with a triple past New York Yankees third baseman Oswald Peraza, left, in the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo throws in the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Tanzania and Tunisia secured the last two available spots in the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 on Tuesday, completing the lineup before half of the groups had concluded their final games.
Tanzania's 1-1 draw with Tunisia in Group C wrecked Angola's hopes of squeezing through as one of the best third-place finishers with just two points from Group B. Angola’s goal difference was better than that of Comoros, the third-place finisher in Group A.
Feisal Salum’s equalizer for Tanzania sent the Taifa Stars through. While Tanzania and Angola both finished with two points and a goal difference of minus 1, the goal scored by Salum, who is commonly known as Fei Toto, took Tanzania's tally to three — one better than Angola's two goals.
All the other group stage survivors were decided already on Monday because of Angola and Comoros’ relatively low points total. It meant teams that already had more than two points and were already assured of at least third place in their groups could be certain of reaching the last 16.
The four best third-place teams from the six groups progress, along with the top two in each. Head-to-head results are the first determining factor if two teams finish with the same amount of points in a group.
Here's a look at which teams went through from the six groups:
Host nation Morocco progressed as the winner of Group A, followed by second-place Mali with just three points from three draws. Morocco next faces a third-place finisher from Groups C, D or E on Sunday. More importantly for the Atlas Lions, they will continue their run to the final in the almost 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, which will also stage the final on Jan. 18. Mali awaits Tunisia for a showdown in Casablanca on Saturday.
Seven-time champion Egypt booked its place after two games and won Group B to advance with South Africa in second, ahead of Angola. Egypt stays in Agadir and next faces a third-place finisher from Groups A, C or D on Jan. 5. South Africa faces a likely tough game against the runner-up in Group F on Sunday.
Nigeria was already sure of topping Group C before its 3-1 win over Uganda on Tuesday. The Super Eagles will remain in Fez for their first knockout game against a third-place finisher from Groups A, B or F on Jan. 5. Tunisia faces Mali in the last 16, and Tanzania progressed as the fourth-best third-place finisher.
Senegal, Congo and Benin were already sure of progressing before their final group games late Tuesday. In the end, Senegal topped the group on goal difference after its 3-0 win over Benin, while Congo finished second after a 3-0 win over Botswana. Botswana had already lost to Senegal and Benin and was certain of finishing last.
Top spot ensured Senegal stays in Tangier for its first knockout game on Saturday against a third-place finisher from Groups B, E or F. But the 2021 champion will be without suspended captain Kalidou Koulibaly.
Congo next faces Algeria, and Benin – like the other surviving third-place finishers – will face one of the group winners.
Algeria is certain to win Group E before its final group games, and Burkina Faso and Sudan are certain to advance because they cannot finish below Equatorial Guinea, which lost both games against them. Algeria will play Congo, the second-place finisher from Group D, on Jan 6. in the same Rabat stadium where it has played all its games so far. On Wednesday, Sudan play Burkina Faso and Algeria plays Equatorial Guinea.
Defending champion Ivory Coast, five-time winner Cameroon, and Mozambique are assured of progress from Group F. Gabon, sure to finish last, was already eliminated before the last round of group games on Wednesday, when the order of the top three teams will be decided. Ivory Coast plays Gabon and Cameroon faces Mozambique.
AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations
A DR Congo fans cheer prior to the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Botswana and DR Congo in Rabat, Morocco, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A DR Congo fan cheers prior to the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Botswana and DR Congo in Rabat, Morocco, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Morocco fans wait for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group A soccer match between Zambia and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Tunisia's supporters wait for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group C soccer match between Tanzania and Tunisia in Rabat, Morocco, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A Moroccan fan waits for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group A soccer match between Zambia and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A Moroccan fan waits for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations group A soccer match between Zambia and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Senegal fans support their national team during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
