NEW YORK -- Jazz Chisholm Jr.¡¯s disputed stolen base in the bottom of the seventh inning wound up huge for the Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night.

For the Royals, it stung.

Later in the inning, the speedy third baseman came roaring around from second to score the go-ahead run on a two-out single by Alex Verdugo in a 6-5 victory for the Yankees.

It was a disjointed theft, as catcher Salvador Perez had a perfect low and outside pitch to throw on, but his throw to second was a misfire that sailed high.

Kansas City second baseman Michael Massey reached up for the throw and quickly reversed course, making a tremendous tag of Chisholm¡¯s left foot.

It looked like that left foot veered off course and might have missed the outside of the bag until after Massey¡¯s tag.

The call by second-base umpire Lance Barrett ¡°stood¡± rather than being ¡°confirmed,¡± which means it was inconclusive for the replay command center in New York.

Chisholm, in a playful way, sounded incredulous after the game that there was even a question that he was safe. He conversed with Massey as the play was reviewed.

¡°No, I knew I was in there,¡± Chisholm said. ¡°That's what we were talking about at second base, actually. He was like, ¡®I think I put down a good tag.¡¯ I said, ¡®You did put down a good tag. That doesn't mean I'm out.¡¯ It was a lot of fun going back and forth, but I knew I had it, and I knew they couldn't overturn it. So I was just ready to go, get Dugie up there and score a run.¡±

Massey gave the video an extensive look before he met with reporters after the game.

¡°In the moment, I felt pretty convinced with the tag that I got,¡± said Massey. ¡°I felt like I pointed right away. And then when I looked up at the board, there was the angle that I just went and watched where you could see the daylight between his heel and the corner of the bag. It¡¯s frustrating, because the video I saw looked pretty convincing to me.¡±

To Massey¡¯s credit, he didn¡¯t pin his team¡¯s tough loss on the call not being overturned.

¡°That being said, that¡¯s not the reason we lost the game. We had plenty of opportunities to score runs and make plays,¡± said Massey. ¡°We didn¡¯t. Frustrating, but we¡¯ll be back at it on Monday [for Game 2].¡±

For Royals manager Matt Quatraro, the decision to challenge was a no-brainer. Particularly because, in the postseason, teams get two challenges rather than the one provided during the regular season.

¡°I got a really good look at it out there [on the scoreboard] and afterwards, and I think we did have a really good argument that that should have been overturned,¡± said Quatraro.

Perez, the Royals¡¯ veteran leader, could have avoided any controversy by making a better throw.

¡°I know I made a bad throw,¡± Perez said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to put an excuse to it. That should be a throw down. Slider in the dirt, he swung at it, and I didn¡¯t get a good grip on the ball. I just tried to throw it. But it looked out. I don¡¯t know. It looked like it was out when they showed it on the screen. I know I made a bad throw, I don¡¯t have any excuse for that. But he looked like he was out. And everything changed after that.¡±

The Yankees held their collective breath for those anxious moments while the play was being reviewed.

¡°A little bit,¡± said Yankees catcher Austin Wells. ¡°I feel like I hold my breath a lot when Jazz is running around the bases. He's so great out there. He can make anything happen. That was a big stolen base for us.¡±

Another way controversy would have been avoided is if Royals righty Michael Lorenzen had gotten Verdugo out. New York¡¯s left fielder has had a down year.

¡°I thought he was out,¡± Lorenzen said. ¡°Umpire called him safe. I just thought, if it¡¯s close they¡¯re probably not going to overturn it. My mind¡¯s already made up. I have him on second base, and I gotta get the next guy.¡±