The Yankees’ struggles at home persisted as they fell to the Kansas City Royals 2-4 in Game 2 of the ALDS on Monday, missing crucial opportunities to push Kansas City to one game away from playoff elimination. Despite having chances to take control, New York couldn’t capitalize, reflecting a season-long challenge in solidifying their home advantage. As the series shifts to Kansas City, questions arise: What has been going right for the Yankees in the ALDS so far? What areas need improvement? And how can they succeed on the road in Games 3 and 4?
ALDS: What’s going wrong for the Yankees?
In their Game 2 loss, the Yankees managed just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight men stranded. Factoring in their stats from Game 1, the Yankees are now 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position across the first two ALDS games, leaving a total of 19 men on base.
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, two of the league’s premier power hitters, have combined for just two hits and six strikeouts in 15 at-bats. The two are combining for a .411 OPS. Judge, in particular, is under scrutiny for his postseason track record. While he boasts numerous impressive achievements in MLB history, he has etched his name next to a not-so-flattering statistic: the worst strikeout rate in MLB postseason history.
Aaron Judge has the worst strikeout rate in MLB postseason history pic.twitter.com/SrxIQOg7S7
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 8, 2024
The Yankees’ ace, Gerrit Cole, along with Carlos Rodon—who together are earning a combined $63 million this year—have struggled significantly on the mound, totaling 8.2 innings pitched and allowing 7 earned runs between them.
ALDS: What’s going right for the Yankees?
Despite the starting pitchers’ struggles, the bullpen has been everything that you would expect to see from a postseason-caliber bullpen. In a combined 9.1 IP, they have relinquished just 1 ER and have tallied 11 strikeouts.
Having home field advantage may not be as advantageous as one would think, at least not for the Yankees. Despite their struggles at home, though, the Yankees did hold the best record in MLB on the road at 50-31, a promising indication as they head out on the road for two games.
In their first meeting of the season June 10-13 at Kauffman Stadium, the Yankees took three out of four games, and outscored the Royals 28-12.
Following Monday’s loss, the Yankees remained positive and ready to take on Games 3 and 4 on the road.
“It still feels the same, that we’re going to win it,” Yankees 3B Jazz Chisholm told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch about the series. “I don’t feel like anybody feels any different. We’re going to go out there and do our thing still; we still don’t feel like any team is better than us. We had a lot of missed opportunities tonight, so they just got lucky.”
ALDS: What’s next for the Yankees?
As the Yankees prepare to head to Kansas City for Game 3 of the ALDS, it’s clear that the offense needs to find its rhythm and get out the gate early. With the series tied and their postseason hopes on the line, the Yankees must capitalize on early opportunities to set the tone and regain momentum. They’ve shown they can succeed on the road, and with their solid track record at Kauffman Stadium earlier this season, now is the time to harness that energy and deliver when it counts. If they can find their offensive spark and convert chances into runs, they’ll put themselves in a strong position to take control of the series. The time for hesitation is over; it’s time for the ‘Bombers’ to be the Bombers and rise to the occasion.
Game 3: Yankees at Royals, Wednesday, Oct. 9, Time TBD, TBS/truTV/Max
Clarke Schmidt RHP | 5-5, 2.85 ERA, 93 SO
Seth Lugo RHP | 16-9, 3.00 ERA, 181 SO
Game 4: Yankees at Royals, Thursday, Oct. 10, Time TBD, TBS/truTV/Max
Gerrit Cole RHP | 8-5, 3.41 ERA, 99 SO
Michael Wacha RHP | 13-8, 3.35 ERA, 145 SO
Game 5: Royals at Yankees, Saturday, Oct. 12, Time TBD, TBS/Max (if necessary)
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