KANSAS CITY, Mo. — And the streak goes on.
It comes as little consolation in a year that won’t include the playoffs, but in Game 161 the Yankees at least avoided the ignominy that might have come with being the team that snapped the franchise’s streak of winning seasons.
A 5-2 win over the Royals on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium secured a 31st consecutive winning season for the Yankees (82-79), the third-longest streak all-time in the four major North American sports.
“I mean, we’re going home [Sunday], so that’s inevitably the takeaway from our season,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We expect to be playing in October. The fact that we’re not going to be doing that beyond tomorrow is tough. I am proud of the group. I do think there’s tremendous opportunities for growth through adversity and through what’s been a tough season. We’ve been through a lot this year. I’m super pleased with how these guys have shown up and continue to get after it day in and day out in a season that hasn’t been what we expected.”
Though it was not enough to make the postseason, the Yankees have gone 20-11 since Aug. 28, which is tied for the second-best record in the majors during that stretch.
“It’s not what we wanted to do, but at this point, for me, that was one of the last things to play for,” Kyle Higashioka said. “At least we can try to have a winning season and we don’t have to say we were a losing team, per se.”
In his season debut, Frankie Montas picked up the win by throwing 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings in relief of Clarke Schmidt.
Montas, a pending free agent who underwent shoulder surgery seven months ago, struck out one, walked one and gave up a pair of hits while throwing 26 pitches.
Montas, who was activated off the injured list before the game, admitted he had some nerves, but Boone thought he looked good physically.
“I thought he looked healthy, is the biggest thing,” Boone said. “It didn’t look like he was protecting anything.”
Schmidt finished his solid season by giving up a pair of runs across four innings.
The 27-year-old right-hander finished the year with a 4.64 ERA across a career-high 159 innings.
“To be able to make adjustments and put together a productive season is big for my confidence, for sure,” Schmidt said. “There was definitely some fatigue at the end of the season, for sure.”
Higashioka, the longest-tenured Yankee, went 2-for-5 with a double in what might have been his final game with the organization.
The 33-year-old catcher will be a trade or non-tender candidate this offseason with the Yankees expected to go with a catching tandem of Jose Trevino and Austin Wells next season.
“I don’t really think about it too much because in this position, I can’t, just because we’re still playing,” Higashioka said. “I’ve been with this organization for half my life. So eventually, obviously, you either retire or get traded or whatever. So it’s not going to last forever. … Whatever happens, happens.”
