On Monday evening, the Kansas City Royals survived a ninth-inning rally by the New York Yankees to ultimately defeat them 4-2, and tie the series 1-1 as they head to Kansas City for the next leg of the series. They will now play the New York Yankees at Kauffman Stadium.
Cole Ragans threw yet another solid postseason start, despite starting slow with four walks in four innings, but only allowed one run while striking out five. “Control was a little erratic. Felt like I made pitches when I had to make a pitch.” Ragans said.
Shortly after giving up the run, the Royals decided to go to town on Carlos Rodon in the 4th inning. Salvador Perez hit the game-tying home run, followed by Tommy Pham’s RBI single which got the Royals to take the lead. Maikel Garcia then hit an RBI to bring Garrett Hampson home, after Hampson himself batted in Pham. It concluded a four-run fourth inning for the Royals, which was all they needed to run out the winners.
The last time Kauffman Stadium hosted a playoff game was in 2015 when Johnny Cueto threw a complete game with two hits against the New York Mets in Game 2 of the World Series. The Royals went on to finish the job in Queens that season.
Now, they face a struggling Yankees side. Their star hitters Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have left more to be desired so far this series, with the former now officially recording the highest strikeout rate in postseason history.
Meanwhile, it will be a big “welcome home” for the Royals, who have not been at Kauffman Stadium in nearly two weeks. During that time, they got their regular season back on track with a sweep in Washington D.C., clinched a playoff berth in Atlanta, and won the AL wild card series in Baltimore. They then went on to spend five days in the Big Apple for the ALDS, losing the first game but winning the second. They will now look to share title glory with their parking lot neighbors, the Kansas City Chiefs.
