Subscribe
Follow Us
The Kansas City Royals have evened up their ALDS series with the New York Yankees after catcher Salvador Perez hit a leadoff homer in the fourth inning that turned the tide against Carlos Rodon's blazing start, striking out the side to open the game. Perez's homer led to a four-run frame that effectively gave the Royals the lead, and the 4-2 win at Yankee Stadium. With this Game 2 win, the Royals will host the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium for Games 3 and 4 of their ALDS series. The deciding Game 5, if necessary, will go back to Yankee Stadium.
After the game, Salvador Perez spoke to the MLB Network's postgame show, MLB Tonight, where he blessed the hosts and the viewers at home with pearls of baseball wisdom.
"It's not about one inning, it's not about one pitch… it's about nine innings, 27 outs."@Royals slugger Salvador Perez joins #MLBTonight after his solo HR in the 4th inning kicked off a big run for Kansas City in tonight's ALDS Game 2 victory.#Postseason pic.twitter.com/Q5m7UUVVse
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 8, 2024
ALDS Game 2: Royals def. Yankees, series tied 1-1
While the Royals now hold home-field advantage in what has effectively become a best-of-three series, the American League East champions still hold extreme confidence that they can pull off the series victory. Just ask Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm, Jr., who also spoke to the press after the loss.
“Still feels the same that we're going to win it. I don't feel like anybody feels any different. We're going to go out there and do our thing still. We still don't feel like any other team is better than us,” Chisholm said, via Yankees Videos. Then, he added, “We had a lot of missed opportunities tonight, so they just got lucky.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was asked if he felt the ALDS felt different after Game 2 compared to Game 1:
"Still feels the same that we're going to win it. I don't feel like anybody feels any different. We still don't feel like any other team is better than us" pic.twitter.com/zjQQBvZMYf
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 8, 2024
His team might not appreciate Chisholm giving their opponents bulletin-board material heading onto Game 3 on the road, but at least they can't fault his confidence.
Moreover, he was right in that the Yankees failed to capitalize on several opportunities to win the game. For instance, they had seven hits and five walks, but they scored only one run on starter Cole Ragans.
Ultimately, the Yankees ceded control of Game 2 to the Royals bullpen, with Chisholm managing to hit only one homer against them in the ninth inning, cutting the lead from 4-1 to 4-2.
What now?
The Yankees are right to be confident, considering they are the AL East champions, and that the underdog Royals stealing a game or two from them is only fodder for their future World Series championship mini-movie.
However, fans shouldn't make any mistake that the Royals hold the upper hand, and that all the pressure sits on the Yankees' shoulders.
They must win at least Game 3 or Game 4, preferably both, to avoid an embarrassing elimination or getting into the weeds with a team with less to lose than the World Series betting favorites.
