Five things Yankees fans need to know about the Royals heading into Game 1 of the ALDS at Stadium on Saturday night:
1. The last person left
Their postseason berth is historically unlikely, as they were just the third team in the expansion era to lose at least 106 games and make the playoffs the following year, but 34-year-old Salvador Perez won the World Series in 2015. This was the first time since then. The only remnant from that club.
And his numbers somehow continued to improve, with a .271 batting average, .786 OPS, and 104 RBIs, his best season since 2021.
2. The sum of the parts does not equal the whole.
The Royals tend to put the ball in play, score more runs, avoid strikeouts (1,161 in the regular season, second fewest in MLB), and AL MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. (.887 OPS). and Perez (1.107 OPS) each had a strikeout. Personal success against the Yankees in 2024.
However, Kansas City still couldn't keep up with the Yankees' offense through seven regular season games, scoring only 24 points.
3. All roads lead to Aroldis
Could polarizing closer Aroldis Chapman hit the Yankees again in October, albeit indirectly?
In 2023, the Royals traded him to the Rangers, acquiring Cole Lagance.
Until then, Ragans had mostly pitched out of the bullpen.
However, Kansas City quickly named him a full-time starter and appeared in his first All-Star Game in 2024, striking out 223 batters (fifth-most in MLB) and losing to the Orioles in the American League Wild Card Series. Completed. The rotation has the second-best ERA-plus in the AL.
He will have a chance to do the same in Game 2.
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4. Something has to give…
The Royals' pitching staff, led by the elite starter trio of Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Michael Wacha, allowed the fewest home runs per nine innings in MLB during the regular season (0.92), while the Yankees hit the majors with 237 home runs. It was the top. However, in those seven innings, the Yankees hit 10 home runs.
present day
The Yankees and Royals haven't played in October since the 1980 ALCS, but Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro has already had a recent taste of facing the Yankees in the postseason.
Quatraro served as the Rays' third base coach in 2018 and as their bench coach from 2019 to 2022. And in 2020, Tampa Bay defeated the Yankees in the ALDS.
