All business: This was just Step 1 for the Yankees

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — They were all on the field now, piled near the pitcher’s mound at Kauffman Stadium — all but Gerrit Cole, who was completing a media room obligation.

So they began to chant his name over and over. A bunch of happy, soaking businessmen. Because that is who they were as much as baseball players right now. It is not like the pressure ever leaves the Yankees. The need to win never dims.

But it has been 15 seasons since the team’s last appearance in the World Series — or in Yankee years, what feels like roughly a century. And the AL playoff field fell just so perfectly for them. Thus, the need to survive and advance has never seemed this imperative. There are just too many jobs and legacies on the line, too many years without The Canyon of Heroes all mixed with this version of the AL playoffs.

So the men sopping in beer and champagne and smiles laid on the visiting infield and screamed for their ace and finally here came Cole to slide in front to a large ovation. Cameras clicked and joy overflowed and, yes, relief, too. The Yankees had come on a two-game businessman’s special and taken care of business. They had won two at Kauffman, including Thursday night, 3-1, behind Cole and more postseason excellence from Giancarlo Stanton and big at-bats from Gleyber Torres.

“We’re here to win,” Stanton said. “No one wants to be on the losing side of this. Imagine how KC feels right now. No one wants to feel that way. And you know, we have an opportunity to keep it rolling, but that [the burden where winning is a must] is an understood reality. We need to take care of business and the steps are in place.”

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