The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night to secure their ticket to the American League Championship Series. The 3-1 win was highlighted by RBIs from Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres, as well as a great pitching performance from Gerrit Cole and two relievers.

Cole pitched 7.0 strong innings and gave up just one run on six hits. He walked nothing and struck out four. Then the tandem of Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver closed the door in the bullpen.

The Yankees’ bullpen, a big question mark before making the playoffs given Holmes’ year-end struggles, turned in a historic performance against the Royals.

According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

The Yankees’ bullpen threw 15 2/3 innings in the ALDS and did not allow an earned run

This is the third-highest IP by a bullpen team in a postseason series in which no ER was allowed, behind only:

1991 ALCS MIN: 18 1/3 IP
2017 NLCS LAD: 17 IP

Weaver has been a revelation behind the scenes in games and has helped answer questions about how the Yankees would handle the closer’s role.

The Yankees are off until Monday, when the ALCS begins. They will wait for the winner of the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians, who play in the other American League Division Series.

These two teams are currently tied at 2-2 and will play Game 5 of the series on Saturday night in Cleveland. This game begins at 8:08 p.m. ET and Detroit will start Tarik Skubal on the mound. Starting in Game 5 means the Yankees won’t have to see him at the start of the ALCS should Detroit advance.

Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter @FastballFN.