The MLB playoffs are heating up with two exciting Game 2 matchups in the American League Division Series on Monday.
The Cleveland Guardians face off against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field, while the Kansas City Royals take on the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Both the Guardians and Yankees lead their series 1-0 after winning Game 1. Historically, teams that win Game 1 have a strong chance of taking the series, so it’s crucial for both the Tigers and Royals to bounce back.
Let’s dive into some key questions for each team as they prepare for these pivotal games.
Yankees: Can Judge Find His Groove?
Aaron Judge had a rough start to his postseason, going hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts in Game 1. Despite this, the Yankees managed to secure a win thanks to contributions from Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo’s game-winning hit, and Clay Holmes’ crucial outs. But fans might wonder if Judge can shake off his slump and deliver when it matters most. He needs to step up against Cole Ragans, one of baseball’s top left-handed pitchers.
Judge has struggled recently but was on fire just before that with a five-game home run streak. The Yankees need him back in form if they want to keep their championship dreams alive.
Royals: Cracking Rodón’s Code
The Royals have an ace up their sleeve with Ragans pitching against a Yankees team that struggled against left-handed starters during the regular season. However, facing Carlos Rodón is no easy task—he finished strong with impressive stats in his last outings. Kansas City’s lineup has not fared well against southpaws despite having power hitters like Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez.
Their performance against lefties has been disappointing overall; they ranked poorly across various offensive metrics this season. To even out the series, they’ll need Ragans’ best performance and find ways to score off Rodón.
Guardians: Boyd vs Skubal Showdown
Matthew Boyd will be starting for Cleveland after joining midseason following Tommy John surgery recovery. He’s shown promise but faces Tarik Skubal—a likely AL Cy Young winner—in what promises to be an intense matchup between former teammates turned rivals.
Fans might think it’s interesting how friendships play out on such big stages! Boyd hasn’t faced Detroit yet this year; he could use that element of surprise as leverage while trying not only matching Skubal pitch-for-pitch but also shutting down any threat posed by familiar foes like Riley Greene who knows him well from previous encounters together under different circumstances altogether!
Tigers: Will Their Bats Ignite?
Detroit closed out its regular season hotly contested games relying heavily upon defense rather than offense which averaged around league norms overall despite winning many contests through sheer determination alone! In fact—their Wild Card Series sweep over Houston Astros exemplified how timely hitting helped propel them forward thus far into postseason play already underway now too!
However—they’ve been struggling offensively lately—with key players like Greene or Torkelson failing consistently enough times leaving gaps needing filling urgently soonest possible otherwise risk falling behind further still without much hope regaining lost ground thereafter potentially jeopardizing entire campaign altogether unless something changes drastically fast somehow miraculously perhaps? What do you think?
