Yankees Get Away With One : Baseball: Wickman stumbles in the ninth, but New York holds on for a 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

NEW YORK — Buck Showalter might have managed with his heart on Wednesday.

Bob Wickman came into the ninth with a three-hitter and a 6-1 lead but gave up four runs with two out on Kevin McReynold’s RBI single and a three-run homer by rookie Phil Hiatt, his second. Steve Farr got the last out for the Yankees’ first save of the season as New York held on for a 6-5 victory over Kansas City.

“I thought about taking him out but he hadn’t thrown that many pitches,” Showalter said. “There were a couple of errors that might have rattled him a little.”

Kansas City has lost seven of its first eight games while the Yankees won their fourth in five.

“I knew I was gone after the home run,” said Wickman (2-0). “But the important thing is we won the game.”

For Royals manager Hal McRae, it was another long day.

“We’re not doing much of anything right now,” he said. “The defense has let us down.”

Wickman had a one-hit shutout until George Brett opened the seventh with a double, eventually scoring on Brent Mayne’s one-out ground out.

Boggs singled in the first, third, fifth and seventh innings, driving in the Yankees first run off Mark Gubicza (0-2) in the third.

Paul O’Neill and Matt Nokes started the fourth with singles, and O’Neill scored on Spike Owen’s grounder to make it 2-0.

New York scored twice in the fifth as Boggs and Don Mattingly had successive hits with one out. Boggs scored on Danny Tartabull’s grounder to short that was booted by Greg Gagne, and O’Neill singled in Mattingly.

Billy Brewer relieved Gubicza after O’Neill’s hit but allowed a run in the seventh when he walked Bernie Williams, threw away a pickoff throw that enabled Williams to go to second and allowed Boggs’ second RBI single.

Kevin Maas hit a solo homer, his first, in the New York eighth.