MLB

Whitley’s gem, McCann’s clutch hit lead Yankees past Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When you think of the biggest surprise player to a very up and down Yankees season who comes to mind first?

Dellin Betances? Yangervis Solarte? Adam Warren? Despite all the hype and money it’s OK to drop Masahiro Tanaka into the debate.

Well, five starts into his first taste of the big leagues, Chase Whitley has shoved his way to the table and from the looks of it has what it takes to stay.

“He has been everything we could have asked for,’’ catcher Brian McCann said of Whitley, who posted his first major league victory Friday night when the Yankees topped the Royals, 4-2, in front of 23,418 at Kauffman Stadium.

In his first four starts, the Yankees went 3-1 but he never got an out in the sixth inning. On Friday night, the right-hander went seven, allowed two runs, five hits and didn’t walk a batter.

“I didn’t throw a strike in the bullpen,’’ Whitley said of his pregame routine. “I followed what Mac put down. I grew up watching him, that’s the cool part.’’

When the soon-to-be 25-year-old surfaced on May 15 at Citi Field to face the Mets in a Subway Series game, nobody expected much. Primarily a reliever in the first four minor league seasons, Whitley was converted to a starter this year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Five starts later, he qualifies as a huge surprise and is becoming a trusted piece of manager Joe Girardi’s rebuilt rotation that is without CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda.

Staked to a 4-1 lead thanks to McCann’s three-run double in the third, Whitley gave back a run in the fifth. Nevertheless, he retired the final eight hitters he faced before turning it over to Betances.

The aspirin-throwing right-hander fanned Lorenzo Cain with a 99-mph fastball for the first out of the eighth, and with Alcides Escobar on second and two outs, fed Nori Aoki a 98-mph heater that shattered his bat and resulted in an inning-ending grounder.

Next up was David Robertson, who added some spice to the ninth by giving up a two-out, bases-empty double to Billy Butler and then pitching around the left-handed hitting Alex Gordon.

“I threw two curveballs and he didn’t bite,’’ said Robertson, who stayed away on the following two pitches and walked the potential tying run.

Robertson, who picked up his 14th save in 16 chances, closed the Yankees’ second straight win by inducing Salvador Perez to hit a grounder to Solarte.

The Yankees’ second win in six games enabled them to pass the Orioles for second place in the AL East and remain six lengths behind the first-place Blue Jays.

“Getting the first out of sixth was key. I finally got past the fifth,’’ Whitley said.

As has become the norm, the Yankees didn’t provide their pitchers much of a cushion. Brian Roberts drove in a run with a two-out single in the second and McCann’s double provided the other three runs.

Yet Whitley had enough to keep the Yankees ahead with a developing slider until Betances and Robertson surfaced.

“It’s unbelievably important,’’ Whitley said of the slider. “I didn’t have the change-up. [Slider] was the key tonight.’’

He doesn’t push speed guns into the sexy mid-90s. He also doesn’t walk many (three in 26 innings) and none in the last three starts.

All Whitley (1-0) does is give the Yankees a chance to win.

“It’s good,’’ Whitley said of his initial big league victory. “But it’s more important the team won.’’