In many ways, the Yankees’ ALDS Game 4 victory and qualification for the next round of the postseason came in a similar fashion to their previous pairing wins, setting them on this path.

Interestingly enough, in a series that featured not only the top two players in the American League, but two of the very best seasons in recent history, neither Bobby Wit Jr.t nor Aaron Judge played the leading man role previously expected of them. the series started. While both MVP-level hitters hit the ground running in Game 4, other characters played more crucial roles, familiar roles for the Yankees.

The recipe was pretty similar for the Yankees in this series, save for a few hiccups in Game 1. Get plenty of pitching despite plenty of speed bumps and let two hitters carry the lineup. Before the playoffs, you would assume those two hitters would be Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, but for this series we’re actually talking about Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton.

Back in the Game 1 win, Torres hit a two-run homer and took part in another run-scoring rally as the Yanks earned a narrow victory. Torres and Stanton teamed up for one of the few runs in Game 2, and then in Game 3 it was the Stanton Show (plus Torres running in front of Soto to set up a bases-loaded sacrifice fly).

There was a certain amount of comfort about how this game played out, as the Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Soto drove in Torres, who doubled to start the game.

Speaking of comfort, this was an odd game in that regard, especially since the Yankees led from start to finish, but never with any real certainty. That was partly due to New York’s efforts just now enough on both sides of the ball to maintain the lead, but never take the lead. The three-run lineup isn’t going to blow anyone away, and as dominant as the final line looked for Gerrit Cole, he had more than his fair share of concerning moments.

Both sides traded outs for a while until Torres and Stanton increased the Yankees’ lead with an RBI each in the fifth and sixth frames. The former drove Michael Wacha from the game with a much-needed two-out knock to make it 2-0. As for Stanton’s RBI, that was of particular note as he drove in Judge, who finally got his first hit on a ringing double – no easy feat against Lucas Erceg. It’s worth noting that Torres and Stanton were the key players in this series, while Judge and Soto were instrumental in the Yankees’ scoring in Game 4.

Maybe it was that one double, or it could be that they just never wanted anything to do with him, but Judge would reach four walks in his next two at-bats in this game, making it five walks in the series.

When it comes to pitching, you know the old saying that it’s better to be lucky than good; that was a little Cole tonight. We know he’s good, so seeing happiness on his side was certainly a relief. Despite allowing some hard contact, Cole gave up just one extra base hit in seven innings of work, culminating in a moment that stopped Yankees hearts everywhere. Kyle Isbel, of all people, nearly tied the game at three with a fly ball to right that would have been a home run in 24 of 30 MLB hits and only failed to go out because of the wind blowing in from right. It was certainly the biggest, but only one of eight Royals batted balls over 95 mph that finished as an out.

It’s okay to worry about Cole moving forward with all the worrying signs he showed in a game like this where he needed a lot of luck to keep things in place. On the other hand, you have the glass half full of an established arm with all the talent in the world who might finally catch a break with the Yankees in the playoffs.

However, the theme of this game and perhaps the entire series was comfort in discomfort. The Yankees never trailed by a single pitch on the road, but never held a lead above three runs either. Luckily they had guys like Torres and Stanton around to save the day multiple times.

These Yankees now leave KC and will await another AL Central opponent as the Guardians and Tigers will battle it out tomorrow night in Game 5 in Cleveland. The American League Championship Series begins Monday night in the Bronx.