Yankees mash 4 more HRs to send Carrasco past Royals

NEW YORK -- The Yankees’ victory formula has followed a classic model thus far: when they can hit homers in bunches, more often than not, they’re shaking hands at the end of the night.

Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Austin Wells all cracked fifth-inning drives into the seats as the Bombers found their long-ball stroke in a rematch of last year’s American League Division Series, powering a 4-1 victory over the Royals on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

“It’s impressive; I think anybody on any night can pick the lineup up,” Wells said. “I think that’s what makes the lineup really good. I feel like we have the ability to be great.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr. also homered for a second consecutive game as the Yankees continued to lean on big swings, with all four blasts coming off Royals starter Seth Lugo. Chisholm said the Yankees took advantage of their scouting report on Lugo, knowing he would be aggressive in going after them.

“He doesn’t like to walk people,” Chisholm said of Lugo. “If you watch his last couple of games, he’s really been in the strike zone a lot and in the strike zone early. I think we went up there with a plan of attack [to] get your pitch early. He throws eight or nine pitches, but get your pitch early and attack it.”

Across their nine wins this season, the Yankees have belted 27 home runs with 80 runs scored; their seven losses have seen them produce just five homers with 19 runs.

“Just a handful of good swings from our lefties, and we were able to jump them and be the difference tonight,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Hitting is hard, and everyone is going to have their little lulls and whatnot.”

Boone remarked before Monday’s game that his pitchers have been walking too many hitters, and there must have been some dugout uneasiness when Carlos Carrasco issued free passes to two of the first three batters he faced.

Carrasco soothed that, though, settling in to limit Kansas City to just one hit over five sharp innings – Bobby Witt Jr.’s third-inning home run, which capped a 10-pitch battle. Boone credited Carrasco’s “moxie,” especially a changeup that generated five swings and misses.

“Everything we did before the game was working,” Carrasco said. “In the first inning, we got those two walks and I was able to hold it right there. … I just went one pitch at a time and was able to get out of the inning.”

Carrasco was helped by impressive defense from left fielder Jasson Domínguez, including a leaping fourth-inning grab that robbed Salvador Perez of extra bases. The 38-year-old Carrasco earned his second victory in pinstripes, walking two and striking out four.

“I think he was great at not giving in to an aggressive lineup,” Wells said. “He made pitches and they got themselves out, which is great.”

Domínguez also made a nifty grab in the sixth behind reliever Fernando Cruz, tracking down Jonathan India’s deep line drive -- part of a career-high six putouts for Domínguez. Boone complimented the ease in the routes that Domínguez showed, which allowed him to use his natural range and speed.

“It feels pretty good,” Domínguez said. “I’ve been working every day.”

Chisholm would attest to that, noting: “He goes out there every day and he works his butt off just to get better. That’s all you can ask from a young kid, just to go out there and keep working. You know you’re going to get better over the years. He’s 22, right? He’s got a lot more years in this game. He’s going to be OK.”

Cruz, Tim Hill, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams combined to limit Kansas City to one hit over the final four frames. Though the Yanks again inserted Cody Bellinger as a late defensive replacement, Domínguez’s improvement in left field has been encouraging.

Having shifted from center field midseason, Domínguez struggled last September, which prompted the Yanks to keep “The Martian” out of the outfield during their postseason run. But Domínguez’s consistent work with outfield coach Luis Rojas has yielded great strides after some early bumps this spring.

“There’s no greater teacher than experience,” Boone said. “He’s done a lot of work out there, a lot of reps, a lot of innings. I’ve maintained the whole time, I think he’s going to get really good out there. That’s my expectation for him, and as he continues to gain experience, we’re seeing him continue to get better.”