Unlikely heroes stepping up in Game 1 win could make Yankees even bigger fright for rest of playoff field

So the Yankees won their playoff opener, a not-particularly-pretty 6-5 decision over the Kansas City Royals Saturday at Yankee Stadium, on a night when Gerrit Cole was — at best — underwhelming and Aaron Judge was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

That means their biggest brand-name starting pitcher and their biggest brand-name hitter did not offer much, yet they still won. Maybe that makes them a real October fright to the rest of the playoff field.

You know – they’ve got so much going for them that they can be off for nearly a week and then blend a terrific bullpen performance, a key Jazz Chisholm steal and a clutch Alex Verdugo hit into the kind of win that can be stacked atop ones they’ll presumably get when Cole and Judge thrive.

Or maybe their victory, which gives them a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five AL Division Series, was a little bit of a mirage mixed into October gold.

It’s hard not to wonder how the Yanks would have fared if the wild Royals pitching staff – better-than-average at limiting walks during the regular season – hadn’t walked eight, including two with the bases loaded to force in runs.

We’ll find out the answer for sure as the playoffs progress.

For now, though, the Yankees can feel at least some satisfaction about taking the twisty first game, which featured five lead changes – the most in a single MLB Postseason game, according to ace statistician Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

But Cole has got to be better if this team is going to range deep into the postseason, even as the Yankees praised him postgame for “battling” and “keeping them in the game.”

That sounds like a realm where lesser talents toil.

Cole faced 23 batters and gave up 11 fair balls with an exit velocity harder than 95 miles per hour (according to StatCast), including the first six put in play. He allowed four runs (three earned) and seven hits in five innings and gave up a Yankee-Stadium homer to MJ Melendez in the fourth. Cole departed after giving up a leadoff hit in the sixth inning.

“I made my fair share of mistakes, that’s for sure,” he said postgame. “Need to be sharper. But they put a couple really good pitches in play, too, and one was the Melendez homer.”

In fairness to the Yankee ace, the last time he started was September 26. Not exactly the schedule a routine-oriented craftsman follows, but that’s a function of what time of year it is, too. He credited the Yankee defense – Judge made a fine running catch in center against Bobby Witt Jr., Verdugo slid to snag a rally-wrecking out in the fourth and Juan Soto (three hits) threw out a runner at the plate, all of whom Cole name-checked in the interview room.

He’ll likely be better the next time out, perhaps later in this series. Judge, too. His night is easy to wave away – oh-fers happen – and Judge also walked and scored once. Maybe he dominates Game 2, which would be timely. There is plenty of heat on Judge to have a big postseason, coming off a 58-homer season in which he’s an easy guess for AL MVP.

One of these autumns, he’s going to own a playoff series, isn’t he?

Saturday, though, multiple other Yankees soared, including a pair who have heard their share of boos – Gleyber Torres, who hit an early homer and Verdugo, who knocked in the run that gave the Yanks the lead for good. Clay Holmes, demoted from the closer’s role, provided five key mid-game outs. Luke Weaver, the de facto closer, was unhittable over the final four outs, including three strikeouts.

“He’s really built for it,” Chisholm said of Weaver. The two often sit together on team planes, Chisholm said. “He could be playing cards, he’s a dog. His mindset, every competition that he goes into, is that he’s gonna win. He’s gonna mean-mug you and everything.”

Austin Wells knocked in two runs. Oswaldo Cabrera looked nimble around the first-base bag. Anthony Volpe drew a bases-loaded walk. Chisholm stole second after leading off the seventh inning with a single – replay confirmed the safe call, though there’s no question some doubters still remain – and scored on Verdugo’s hit.

Chisholm joked that he blacked out afterward. When someone asked about scoring the eventual winning run in his first playoff game with the Yankees, Chisholm grinned and seemed to enjoy the reminder.

“I even forgot about that,” he said. “I was really hyping up Dougie (Verdugo), like he came through. We said, ‘We’re just gonna keep passing the baton and keep on doing it together.’ So, in my head, I’m not even thinking about, ‘I just scored.’ I’m thinking, ‘You just came through, my guy.’”

It was a big night at the Stadium for that, coming through. Mostly. If – make it when – Cole and Judge do the same, the Yankees will be an even bigger October fright.