Major League Baseball’s posteason continues with the beginning of the respective best-of-five Division Series. The No. 1 New York Yankees are hosting the No. 5 Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium for Games 1 and 2 on Saturday and Monday. (Sunday is a designated off day for the series.) The Yankees, as the AL’s top seed, received a bye for the wild-card round. The Royals, meanwhile, swept the Baltimore Orioles 2-0 in their best-of-three Wild Card Series.
Check out the complete 2024 MLB playoff schedule. And here is the ALDS schedule:
| Date | Start time/result | TV | |
|---|---|---|---|
Game 1 | Sat., Oct. 5 | 6:38 p.m. ET | TBS |
Game 2 | Mon., Oct. 7 | 7:38 p.m. ET | TBS |
Game 3 | Wed., Oct. 9 | 7:38 p.m. ET | TBS |
| Game 4 (if nec.) | Thurs., Oct. 10 | 8:08 p.m. ET | TBS |
| Game 5 (if nec.) | Sat., Oct. 12 | 8:08 p.m. ET | TBS |
Where to watch Game 2
Date: Monday, Oct. 7 | Time: 7:38 p.m. ET
Location: Yankee Stadium (New York)
Channel: TBS
Probable pitchers: LHP Carlos Rodón (16-9. 3.96 ERA) vs. LHP Cole Ragans (11-9, 3.14 ERA)
Odds: NYY -145 | KCR +122; over/under: 7.5
After eking out a win with Gerrit Cole on the mound Saturday, the Yankees will turn to southpaw Carlos Rodón to try to put them up 2-0 in the ALDS. The Royals, meanwhile, will throw their own lefty Cole Ragans in an attempt to tie the series. The two teams have faced each other four times in the playoffs before: the Yankees won the 1976 ALCS, 1977 ALCS 3-2 Yankees and 1978 ALCS, while the Royals snagged the 1980 ALCS. New York is 9-8 all-time against Kansas City in the postseason.
Here’s what you need to know about the two teams.
Royals: The Royals became the second team in a 162-game season to make the playoffs after suffering 100 or more losses the previous year. They owe that to a combination of factors, including the maturation of star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and lefty Cole Ragans, as well as an influx of steady veteran additions, such as starters Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, and Michael Lorenzen. The Royals will be attempting to reach the ALCS for the first time since 2015, when they went on to win the World Series.
Yankees: The Yankees earned the No. 1 seed in the American League with a 94-68 record. New York will now try to return to the ALCS for the sixth time since their last pennant (2009). The Yankees went 5-2 against the Royals during the regular season.
