Gerrit Cole, Yankees Win ALDS vs. Royals, Hyped by MLB Fans as World Series Favorite

The New York Yankees are heading to the American League Championship Series after downing the Kansas City Royals 3-1 in Game 4 of the ALDS on Thursday.

The reigning Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole guided New York on the bump, pitching seven innings and allowing just one run while picking up four strikeouts. Clay Holmes relieved him in the eighth and Luke Weaver pitched the bottom of the ninth to hold the lead.

Much like the rest of the series, it wasn't an outstanding performance from the Yankees' offense.

Juan Soto had an RBI single in the first inning, Gleyber Torres added another in the fifth and Giancarlo Stanton drove Aaron Judge home in the sixth inning to give New York its three runs.

With the game Cole had, the Yankees' slow night on offense didn't matter.

After the win, fans hyped New York as the World Series favorite as it looks to become American League champions for the first time since 2009.

The Yankees are favorites to win the World Series, but they still have a tough road ahead of them. While New York had the best record in the American League this year, both the Guardians and Tigers are getting hot at the right time.

If the Yankees can move on, they'll then get either the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres.

For now, New York will enjoy getting back to the ALCS after missing the postseason entirely last year.