Clay Holmes' Blown Save Overshadows Juan Soto's Heroics in Yankees' 4-3 Loss

Aaron Judge has been extraordinary this month, while Juan Soto's return has been nothing short of transformative for the team.

Entering the seventh inning facing a no-hitter and a two-run deficit, the Yankees mounted a comeback with a three-run rally in the eighth inning. Unfortunately, Clay Holmes' blown save resulted in a 4-3 defeat on Thursday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

Soto was instrumental, breaking up the no-hitter with a single to right field in the seventh and delivering the go-ahead RBI with a sharply hit ground ball to right in the eighth. Since his return from left arm inflammation, Soto has reached base in every game, scoring six runs over four games.

Leading the Major Leagues with 356 runs scored, the Yankees had been averaging nearly nine runs per game in their initial three contests against the Royals. Their eighth-inning rally was set up by Nestor Cortes, who pitched seven innings of two-run ball. Cortes, with a 6.17 ERA on the road compared to a 1.77 ERA at home, struck out two batters and faced no more than four batters in five of his seven innings. Both Royals' runs off Cortes came from a double by Vinnie Pasquantino in the fourth inning.

Despite Holmes, who had 19 saves, surrendering a two-run walk-off double to Maikel Garcia, the Yankees secured three out of four games against the Royals. Judge, with a league-best 37-game on-base streak, saw his streak conclude with a four-strikeout performance.