Yankees And Royals in the ALDS: What to know
Yankees win AL East, via AP Photo/Noah K. Murray
It is a new day in the American League. The Astros and Orioles have both been eliminated, and the Yankees have a clear path to the World Series. Before that, they will face the Kansas City Royals. The Royals are hot right now after their impressive sweep against the Baltimore Orioles. This seems to be a common trend for Baltimore as their star shortstop, Gunner Henderson, went 0-7 with four strikeouts and two walks. They're still a very young team, but a team like Kansas City was ready to take advantage of that. Both games were pitching and bullpen fights. The Royals led with pitchers Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans against the Orioles. The Yankees went 2-1 against both pitchers this season. Lugo went 7 IP in both games, winning one 5-0 and losing the other 4-2 as the Yankees scored on him out the gate. Ragans' bullpen lost him the game as Jazz Chisholm won the game for the Yanks in extra innings. However, the Yankees will face RHP Michael Wacha in game one. Here are the Yankees all-time numbers against him:
Aaron Judge: 1-18, 11 K's
Gleyber Torres: 1-16
Giancarlo Stanton: 4-17, 1 HR
Alex Verdugo: 3-11
Anthony Rizzo: 22-56, 3 HR
Those are not lovely numbers. However, Michael Wacha hasn't had a good playoff appearance since 2013… he has a 5.21 ERA in the postseason. The Yankees have had lots of rest and need to win game one. The only pitcher I fear is Seth Lugo because Brady Singer has a 7.59 ERA against the Yanks. The obvious worry on offense is SS Bobby Witt Jr. The kid is a stud and would've been AL MVP if not for Aaron Judge. However, you fight fire with fire, so it will be alright if our offense is rolling. And we have Gerrit Cole, who should go 7 IP with minimal damage. The Yankees should take game one easily, but this Royals team is not one to count out. Like I said before, we cannot downplay the importance of Stanton. This offense could be lethal if he gets it going. If not him, then let’s see if “The Martian” will make his landfall, Jasson Dominguez. These are many "IFs" and "shoulds" because they are according to this team's expectations. Year after year, it's been more or less than the same since 2017. It's time for the Bronx Bombers to bring it. The quest for 28 begins.
