The 2024 MLB postseason continues Monday with Game 2s in the American League Division Series. The Detroit Tigers got a clutch home run from Kerry Carpenter and a dominant performance from Tarik Skubal to even their ALDS at 1-1. Can the Kansas City Royals follow suit on the road? They'll try on Monday night against the New York Yankees in the Bronx.
Since divisional play began in 1995, the winner of Game 1 has won 84 of 116 best-of-five postseason series, or 72%. The stakes are high Monday night. The Royals can ill-afford to fall behind 0-2 to the Yankees, who finished with the AL's best record during the regular season. Game 2 is not a literal must win for Kansas City, but it's close.
Here's where to watch on Monday night.
Where to watch Yankees vs. Royals Game 2
- Time: 7:38 p.m. ET | Date: Monday, Oct. 7
- TV channel: TBS, truTV | Live stream: Max
- Odds: NYY -155, KC +130 | O/U: 7.5
- Probable pitchers: LHP Cole Ragans (KC) vs. LHP Carlos Rodón (NYY)
Here now is one question for each team heading into Yankees vs. Royals Game 2.
Yankees: Will Judge get off the postseason schneid?
Aaron Judge, the likely AL MVP, went 0 for 4 with a walk and three strikeouts in Game 1, and in a way, that's encouraging. Judge didn't do anything at the plate and Gerrit Cole had a so-so start at best (four runs in five innings), yet the Yankees won anyway. Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto each reached base three times, Alex Verdugo had the game-winning hit, and demoted closer Clay Holmes got five important outs in the middle innings. The rest of the Yankees picked up their captain.
That said, the Yankees need Aaron Judge to be Aaron Judge to get to where they want to go, which is a parade down the Canyon of Heroes. Dating back to the regular season, Judge has struck out in eight of his last 10 plate appearances, but he also had a five-game home run streak immediately prior to that. After clinching the AL East, the Yankees rested Judge twice during the regular season's final weekend, then they had the Wild Card Series bye. He's played two games in the last 10 days.
Perhaps then Game 1 was merely Judge shaking off the rust. His career postseason record is less than sterling however -- .206/.307/.451 with 13 homers and 69 strikeouts in 45 games, which isn't bad, but certainly isn't regular season Aaron Judge -- so the Yankees are still waiting for their franchise player to have his breakout October. In Game 2 specifically, they'll need Judge to have an impact against Royals starter Cole Ragans, one of the top lefties in the game and one of the top starters period.
The Yankees went 21-23 against left-handed starters during the regular season even though Soto hits lefties just as well as he hits righties, and Judge was one of the sport's most dominant hitters against southpaws. Here's where Judge ranked among the 95 hitters with at least 150 plate appearances against lefties:
- Batting average: .311 (12th -- Jose Altuve was first at .370)
- On-base percentage: .505 (1st -- David Fry was second at .430)
- Slugging percentage: .725 (2nd -- Tyler O'Neill was first at .750)
- Home runs: 16 (2nd -- Ketel Marte was first with 18)
The Yankees managed to win Game 1 without Judge contributing. It's hard to see them doing the same in Game 2. Ragans is too good and the rest of New York's non-Soto lineup was too bad against lefties in 2024. Judge doesn't necessarily need a signature moment in Game 2. He simply needs to contribute.
Royals: Can they solve Rodón?
Good news for the Royals: The Yankees went 21-23 against left-handed starters during the regular season and the Royals will have Ragans, their ace lefty, on the mound in Game 2. Bad news for the Royals: They went 16-21 against lefty starters during the regular season and will face lefty Carlos Rodón in Game 2. Rodón finished the regular season very well, pitching to a 2.91 ERA and striking out 30.0% of batters faced in 12 second-half starts.
Kansas City's offense was shockingly bad against left-handed pitching this season and I say shockingly because their lineup is anchored by Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez, two righty hitters with big-time power. Here's where the Royals ranked among the 30 teams against lefty pitchers in 2024:
- Batting average: .243 (17th)
- On-base percentage: .293 (28th)
- Slugging percentage: .379 (23rd)
- Home runs: 33 (25th)
Perez hit nine of those 33 home runs (Witt had four). Also, the Royals were somehow even worse against lefties in September: .163/.214/.226 (!). That's despite adding veteran righty bats Tommy Pham and Yuli Gurriel just before the Aug. 31 postseason roster eligibility deadline. As good as they were in 2024, the Royals were susceptible to southpaws.
Rodón is home-run prone. He gave up 31 dingers this year, including one every five innings or so at Yankee Stadium, where Game 2 will be played. Home runs are usually how he gets beat. Rodón doesn't walk many nor does he give up many base hits in general. Your best chance against him is hitting the ball out of the park and the Royals, other than Perez and Witt, aren't really equipped to do that against lefties. It's not their game. On paper, Rodón is a bad matchup for Kansas City.
To even the ALDS at one win apiece, the Royals need a great start from Ragans, first and foremost, and they also need to figure out a way to scratch out runs against Rodón. They must overcome their season-long issues with lefties and certainly do better against Rodón in Game 2 than they did against southpaws in September.
