The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals on Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in the ALDS. The Yankees got a controversial decision to go their way when third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. was called safe at second and the call was upheld after replay review. Chisholm Jr. officially stole second and later scored the game-winning run on an Alex Verdugo single in the seventh inning.
Of course, not everyone agreed with the call as fans vented their outrage online. And Pedro Martinez also felt Chishom Jr. was out, as he said during the broadcast, per Roger Steinbrock on X.
Martinez took his umbrage over the call a step further in an interview Monday. “I think they got robbed. But you know what? It’s New York! And the umpires, where are they? In New York! It’s the Yankees. They have to win in New York! That’s how I see it. It’s New York and we gotta give the advantage to New York. We don’t want Kansas City in the World Series, we want New York! That is such BS,” Martinez said via B/R Walk-Off on X.
“It’s just like if it was the Red Sox. If it was the Red Sox, it wasn’t going to go the Red Sox's way. That is BS,” Pedro added.
The Yankees benefited when Jazz Chisholm Jr. was called safe at second in Game 1
While some of that is clearly residual frustration after pitching for the Yankees’ oldest rival for seven seasons, the call at second really was incredibly close. While Chisholm Jr. was confident he was safe, the review truly could have gone either way. It’s unfortunate it ended up being the difference in the opening game of the Division Series.
Related New York Yankees NewsArticle continues below
The Yankees earned a bye in the Wild Card round after winning the AL East. Manager Aaron Boone made the tough decision to start Verdugo in left field over rookie Jasson Dominguez in the ALDS. That move paid off in Game 1 as the veteran outfielder delivered the go-ahead RBI.
The two teams will battle it out in Game 2 of the series Monday night. The Yankees will send Carlos Rondon to the mound while the Royals give the ball to Cole Ragans. The series features two of the American League’s best players in Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr., who are likely to finish first and second respectively for the AL MVP this season.
With the Game 1 victory, the Yankees overtook the Los Angeles Dodgers as the betting favorite to win the World Series. The San Diego Padres tied the Dodgers 1-1 with a clutch victory in Game 2 of the NLDS. Game 3 will take place in LA on Tuesday.
