The Royals responded to the controversial safe call on Jazz Chisholm.

“I feel like you guys know me,” Massey said. “I don’t say too much about a lot of things, so I wanted to make sure I had the facts before I did. Like I said, if that’s something that won’t be undone, I’m not sure what (will) be other than the obvious calls from guys standing two feet away. Then there is no point in challenging.”

Jazz thought he was safe.

“No, I knew I was in there,” Chisholm said. “That’s actually what we were talking about at second base. He said, “I think I made a good tag.” I said, ‘You made a good tag. That doesn’t mean I’m gone.’ It was a lot of fun going back and forth, but I knew I had it, and I knew they couldn’t undo it. So I was just ready to go, get Dugie out there and score a point.

Anne Rogers writes that the Royals knew they had issued too many walks.

“We pride ourselves on letting them earn their money on base,” starter Michael Wacha said, “and we didn’t do that. We have to get them back in the zone, fill it up and make quality pitches in the zone.”

Melanie Martinez-Lopez writes that the Royals got some good at-bats against Yankees starter Gerrit Cole.

“You could see on Cole’s face that he was getting frustrated with Yuli,” Melendez recalled. “He took the balls and made mistakes on the shots, making some difficult throws wrong. And I think he’s the reason why I ended up getting the result that I did, probably because of what he was able to do in that one at-bat.

Jaylon Thompson writes about Lucas Erceg’s emergence as an ace reliever.

“Everything we heard about him from the people in Oakland, and all the information we tried to find out, his competitiveness stood out,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He has not shied away from any of these challenges.” The most important one: close games without blowing leads.

“You don’t know how he’s going to react in those moments when he’s closer,” Picollo said. “But I think what he’s been through in the last two months gives us a lot of confidence that we have closure.”

Bill Ladson of MLB.com writes about the addition of Tommy Pham to the team.

“He’s a great worker, a tireless worker,” Quatraro said. “He’s constantly trying to figure out what he needs to do to improve. And for someone who has been played for so long, that’s not always the norm: his willingness to make some changes and listen to suggestions. He plays extremely hard all the time. I think our guys respect that.”

Craig Brown recaps Game One of the series.

So as we look back to assess the ‘why’ and ‘what happened’ of this Game One loss, there’s plenty to unpack. Yes, the snorting repetition is one factor. That includes the fact that the Royals couldn’t get the damn leadoff hitter out consistently. Do you want to prepare your opponent for success? Turn on the leading man. Then there was the fateful fifth inning in which the Royals issued not one, but two bases-loaded walks. Or how about the fact that the Royals pitchers gave up a total of eight walks? Or how about sending Perez home in the second inning, perhaps preventing a bigger inning?

Yes, this game was influenced by a stupid video review, but there were some missed opportunities and gift-wrapped runs. Relying on one factor and one factor only as the reason for this loss in Game One minimizes the impact of the others. And there were plenty of reasons why the Royals, despite scoring five points, fell short.

How to watch the Royals and Chiefs game at the same time tonight.

Kings of Kauffman’s Rachael Millanta looks at the silver lining of Game 1.

Royals broadcaster Jake Eisenberg talks about being part of the playoff run.

Nick Castellanos connects the NLDS with a walk-off hit for the Phillies.

Padres/Dodgers Game 2 is postponed after fans throw things on the field for an eventual victory in San Diego.

The Guardians shut out the Tigers in Game 1.

The Dodgers believe Yoshinobu Yamamoto tipped his pitches.

Some fans think Devin Williams tipped his pitch before giving up the game-winning home run to Pete Alonso.

Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove will undergo Tommy John surgery.

Clayton Kershaw has a setback in rehab and will not return this year.

Where the Guardians found hidden value.

Where do the Brewers go from here after a heartbreaking Wild Card loss?

The Red Sox were able to trade Masataka Yoshida after a disappointing season.

The A’s expect payroll to increase in their first year in Sacramento.

The Blue Jays are facing a critical offseason.

The Rays could operate from their rotation depth this winter.

How will the Cardinals handle their rotation options?

Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty advance to the WNBA Finals.

How often do 5-0 NFL teams miss the playoffs?

Apple is slowly moving away from its annual product release strategy.

Keanu Reeves makes his professional racing debut.

More than half of next year’s top studio film releases will come from existing IP.

Your song of the day is Folk Implosion with Natural one.