KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Beyond the fountains out in right field, the 'Luke Voit Fan Club' gathered for Saturday afternoon's day-night doubleheader opener.
Added pressure?
"No, more like excitement," Voit said.
In his first time playing as a Yankee in his home state, Voit wanted a chance to drop a home run in front of those 60 family and friends, a party organized by the slugger's wife.
"That's where I usually hit them," Voit said of the opposite field.
Instead, Voit bashed a tie-breaking home run to left field that sailed 470 feet.
"To hit probably the farthest home run I've ever hit, in front of them, it was pretty surreal," said Voit after the Yankees' 7-3 victory against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Regardless of the estimated distance by Statcast, "I don't know if you can really hit it farther than that," Voit said. "That felt good."
And it felt great to J.A. Happ, chief beneficiary of the longest home run this year by a Yankee.
Belted off right-handed reliever Scott Barlow, Voit's 13th homer canceled out a game-tying, three-run shot by Whit Merrifield _ the one critical mistake made by Happ, who struck out a season-high 10 batters in six innings.
"He brings passion to every at-bat," Happ said of Voit. "It's fun to see him excited after that one; that ball went a long way."
A graduate of Missouri State, Voit had this series circled on his calendar.
"One of my more favorite stadiums," Voit said of the Royals' park, having attended games here as a fan.
Voit was drafted by the Royals (32nd round) out of Lafayette (Mo.) High School, but didn't sign.
Four years later, Voit was drafted and signed by the St. Louis Cardinals, closer to his Wildwood, Mo., home.
But in less than a year as a Yankee, "he's brought so much to the table for us," manager Aaron Boone said of Voit, acquired from the Cards last July for pitchers Chasen Shreve and Gio Gallegos.
"He loves coming in here and being a Yankee. They love him in that room; he brings something to the park every day from an energy standpoint."
Winners of six straight games and 15 of their last 18, "this is the funnest team I've played on for sure," Voit said of the first-place Yankees (33-17), who built a 3-0 lead on Jacob Junis.
As Voit noted, he's still yet to play regularly with the injured Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Didi Gregorius.
"I'm super-anxious for those guys to get back," Voit said. "Maybe I'll see more fastballs than what I've seen."
But that hanger from Barlow was a gift.
"Yeah, I did for a little bit," Voit said of admiring his shot, even forgetting his trademark hop out of the batter's box.
"I don't mean anything bad," Voit said of watching it go for a second. "But ... you don't normally hit those very often."
Happ's fastball command was as sharp as it's been, evidenced by his 10th career game with a double-digit strikeout total.
Along with his execution, the "confidence was better, too," Happ said.
"Just pitched with a little better tempo," Happ said. "I'd like to say the confidence is always there, but it's also nice to get some results."
Against Junis, the Yanks built a 3-0 lead on Clint Frazier's first-inning, two-run double and a Brett Gardner (3 for 4) triple ahead of Gio Urshela's sixth-inning sacrifice fly.
Into the sixth, Happ (4-3) had retired 15 straight batters before a one-out bunt hit by Billy Hamilton and a single by Nicky Lopez was followed by Merrifield's game-tying, three-run blast to left.
That one stunned Happ, who gave up four hits and walked none.
"I'm responsible for that," Happ said of the 14th homer he's yielded in 11 starts this year. "But as far as how I threw the ball, I feel better than maybe the results."
