Heroes, zeros and the entire inside pitch of the Yankees’ 3-1 victory over the Royals in Game 4 of the ALDS Thursday night in Kansas City, Missouri.

Hero

Gerrit Cole returned to his top form after a difficult Game 1 performance.

He allowed just one run over seven innings.

Zero

Easy as 4-5-6. That part of Kansas City’s order – Salvador Perez, Yuli Gurriel and MJ Melendez – went a combined 0-for-11 in the loss.

Unsung hero

Gleyber Torres not only started the game with a double and scored in the first inning, he played peacemaker in the bottom of the sixth inning after the benches had cleared and the Yankees were ahead by two runs.

Any potential eviction could have hurt the Yankees.

Key stat

Twelve years ago was the last time the Yankees faced a team other than the Astros in the ALCS, when they lost to the Tigers in 2012.

Detroit could be their opponent again if they beat Cleveland in their ALDS on Saturday.

Quote of the night

“It’s definitely going to be a fun time in New York,”

– Aaron Judge on the fact that the Yankees and Mets are in their respective championship series.