Thoughts after Game 1 and before Game 2 of the 2024 ALDS

It wasn’t the prettiest win, but it was a win, and there are no bonus points for style. The Yankees beat the Royals 6-5 in Game 1 of the ALDS and are two wins away from their fourth ALCS in the last eight years. There were five lead changes in Game 1 and apparently that is the most ever in a postseason game. The MLB Network research crew and our research team at CBS both say so. How about that? Sunday is an off-day and Game 2 is Monday night. Here are a few thoughts after the Game 1 win. (I should’ve mentioned this before Game 1, but if you’re looking for a Royals’ perspective, Into The Fountains is a free newsletter and one of the best fan sites going.)

Game 2 on Monday: LHP Carlos Rodón vs. LHP Cole Ragans (7:30pm ET on TBS, Max, TruTV)

1. The postseason is a clean slate. And there is no better reminder of that than Game 1. Two players who were demoted out of their roles and derided for much of the summer had a huge impact in Saturday’s win. Alex Verdugo, who started over Jasson Domínguez, got the big hit and made the big defensive play, and Clay Holmes was on the mound for the biggest outs in the middle innings.

“I felt like this was the way to go for Game 1,” Aaron Boone said about Verdugo getting the start before Game 1. “Obviously Alex has been tremendous for us out there defensively, and even though it's been up and down for him in the second half, especially offensively, I still feel like there's a really good hitter in there that can provide something for us at the bottom.”

Verdugo singled ahead of Gleyber Torres’ two-run homer in the third, made a sliding catch along the left field line to save at least one run and probably two in the fourth, then drove in the game-winning run in the seventh (videos). Game 1 was Verdugo’s first multi-hit game since Sept. 9th. That sounds worse than it is because he didn’t start every game down the stretch, but that’s the point, right? Verdugo lost his job.

"He lives for this,” Jazz Chisholm Jr. said about Verdugo’s big game. “He's played in big cities before. He played in Boston. He played in LA, and I'm not talking about the Angels.”

We can never truly know, but I don’t think Domínguez makes that catch along that left field line in the fourth inning. If that ball drops in, it changes everything. At least one run scores, the inning continues, and Gerrit Cole’s pitch count climbs. With the off-day Sunday, that’s maybe not a huge deal, but the complexion of the game changes if the bullpen is in there an inning or two earlier than it was.

As for Holmes, he got maybe the five biggest outs of Game 1. He entered with a runner on first and one out in the sixth inning, stranded the runner, then tossed a 1-2-3 seventh as well. Holmes went through the top of the lineup too. He entered with the Yankees down 5-4 and gave the offense a chance to get back in the game, which is exactly what they did. Holmes restored order and gave the Yankees a chance to breathe. (He was credited with the win, which probably feels nice for him.)

I should mention Torres here as well. He had a rough season overall and certainly found himself in the group of maligned Yankees at times. Gleyber had the best at-bats of the night for either team, seeing 29 pitches in five plate appearances and reaching base three times. His two-run homer into the short porch (video) brought Yankee Stadium back to life after the Royals took the lead in the second.

Your best players have to be your best players in October and Cole and Aaron Judge most definitely were not the Yankees' best players in Game 1. Juan Soto (3-for-5 with a double) was the only one of the Big Three who came to play. It was the guys no one trusted, the guys Yankees fans wanted DFAed weeks ago, who led the Yankees to the win. Verdugo with his bat and his glove, and Holmes in the middle innings (and Torres too). October is a new season and they started it on the right foot. 

“When guys like that, who’ve been going through it a little bit, come through in a big spot, it makes it that much sweeter,” Cole said.

2. It could've been worst for Cole. The final line wasn’t disastrous – 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR – but that had more to do with all three outfielders making great defensive plays than Gerrit Cole bearing down when things got tough. Aaron Judge took extra bases away from Bobby Witt Jr. with a running catch, Juan Soto threw a runner out at the plate*, and Alex Verdugo made the sliding catch along the line (videos). Cole has bailed the Yankees out plenty over the years. In Game 1, the Yankees had to pick him up.

* I have no idea why the Royals sent Sal Perez home with no outs. Made no sense. Thanks though!

Royals hitters put eight balls in play at 100 mph or greater against Cole, his most in a start since 2017, and they had three other balls over 97 mph too. Only six whiffs among 80 pitches. Cole couldn’t get the Royals to miss and the contact he allowed was loud. Without Judge, Soto, and Verdugo making those plays, the Yankees might’ve gotten blown out in Game 1. They certainly weren’t winning without them.

The Yuli Gurriel at-bat, when he went from down 0-2 in the count to an 11-pitch walk in the fourth, was the surest sign Cole was not himself. He had nothing to put the 40-year-old Gurriel away. MJ Melendez followed with a short porch two-run homer and Verdugo had to make the sliding catch to prevent further damage. Cole threw 80 pitches in Game 1 and it felt like every single one was high stress. The Royals were all over him.

Aaron Boone had a slow hook – what else is new? – and had Cole start the sixth, only to remove him after Gurriel banged a leadoff single off the wall. One of those “he hit it so hard he held himself to a single” jobs. Cole could not put Gurriel away the second time through the lineup. Why let him face him again? Boone was trying to steal outs with his ace to save the bullpen for Sunday’s off-day, I guess.

If you’d have told me before the game that Cole would pitch like that, the offense would go 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, Anthony Volpe would throw a potential inning-ending 6-4-3 double play ball into right field, and the Yankees would make two outs at home, I would have guessed they lost Game 1, maybe even by a lopsided score. Instead, a one-run win. A missed opportunity for Kansas City.

“It was a battle back and forth,” Cole said. “We played outstanding defense, really. That was the highlight of the night for me. Judge running down the ball in center, Verdugo with the sliding catch to kill the rally, and Juan Soto with the perfect throw to get Salvador. That kept us in the ballgame. I made my fair share of mistakes, that's for sure. Need to be sharper. But they put a couple really good pitches in play too, and one was the Melendez homer.”

3. Two breaks lead to a win. The Yankees got a little lucky in the seventh inning of Game 1, and credit to them for capitalizing and turning those breaks into a win. First, it looked like Jazz Chisholm Jr. got thrown out at second on his stolen base. Here’s the best angle (video). There’s daylight here:

The Royals challenged and the call stood, which is an official term. “Stands” means the replay center did not see enough evidence to overturn the call on the field. “Confirmed” means they saw conclusive evidence the call was correct. “Overturned” means they saw conclusive evidence the call was wrong, and it’s being changed. The replay team said there wasn’t enough evidence to change the call, so Chisholm was safe.

"He was like, 'I think I put down a good tag,’” Jazz said. “I said, 'You did put down a good tag. That doesn't mean I'm out.'"

That was the first break. The second came when Royals manager Matt Quatraro let Michael Lorenzen face Alex Verdugo with two outs. Verdugo singled in the game-winning run, then Quatraro went to Lucas Erceg, his ace reliever. If the Royals were willing to bring Erceg into the seventh inning, then they should have just let him face Verdugo to snuff out the rally. Instead, Verdugo faced the lesser pitcher, and won the game.

Chisholm’s stolen base was so close that the call on the field was going to stand either way, and the Yankees got that call. I was impressed with Quatraro in the Wild Card Series, I liked his moves against the Orioles, but yeah, letting Lorenzen face Verdugo when Erceg was ready to enter the game was a mistake. Good work making Quatraro and the Royals pau, Yankees.

4. Rodón’s time to shine. Carlos Rodón’s first season with the Yankees was terrible. His second was pretty good. Not amazing, and probably not what you expect from the ninth highest paid starting pitcher in baseball, but pretty good. Rodón took the ball every fifth day, which wasn’t a lock given his injury history, and he had a 3.00 ERA (4.00 FIP) with 30.4 K% in his last 13 regular season starts. That works.

The Yankees did not sign Rodón simply for the regular season though. They signed him for the postseason, for games like Game 2 of ALDS, when the Yankees have a chance to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. The Royals are not a good offensive team and they are especially bad against lefties. Shockingly terrible in fact:

• 2024 vs. LHP: .243/.293/.379 (84 wRC+) with 19.8 K%

• Sept. vs. LHP: .163/.214/.226 (20 wRC+) with 26.9 K%

I’m surprised the Royals were that bad against lefties this year when righties Bobby Witt Jr. and Sal Perez (and longtime lefty masher Hunter Renfroe) anchor the middle of the lineup, and I’m even more surprised by their September numbers against lefties. They added Yuli Gurriel and Tommy Pham right before the Aug. 31st postseason roster-eligibility, and those two veteran righty hitters somehow made them worse against lefties. Huh.

Cole Ragans starts Game 12 and he’s excellent, truly one of the best pitchers in baseball, so the margin of error shrinks. Sloppy defense, bad baserunning, stranding so many runners, that ain’t gonna fly against him. Neither will a start like Gerrit Cole’s in Game 1. Alex Verdugo and Clay Holmes stepped up in Game 1 after rough seasons. Game 2 is Rodón’s chance for his first real big moment in pinstripes.

5. Rapid fire thoughts. Aaron Judge didn’t do anything to dispel the narrative in Game 1. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, including fanning with runners on second and third and no outs in the first, and with runners on first and second and one out in the sixth. He entered 2024 as a .211/.310/.462 (108 wRC+) hitter with a 33.3 K% in his postseason career. That’s not bad, but it’s not regular season Judge. It goes without saying the Yankees need Judge to be Judge to get to where they want to go. He’s gotta hit and hit big in October at some point … Giancarlo Stanton’s total lack of speed cost the Yankees two runs in Game 1. He didn’t score on Oswaldo Cabrera’s double in the fourth, which rolled away from center fielder Kyle Isbel, and he didn’t beat out an infield single with two outs and a runner at third in sixth (videos). It was a play that what, 98% of players beat out? Stanton was nearly safe as it is. Gonna need you to mash some taters to make up for it, G … Me on Friday: The Yankees should move Austin Wells out of the cleanup spot. Wells to me: You idiot, you absolute moron. Wells went 1-for-3 with two walks in Game 1. He walked with the bases loaded against tough lefty Angel Zerpa to tie the game in the fifth, then singled in the tying run again in the sixth (videos). Wells getting back to his June through August form would be welcome … Bobby Witt Jr. went 0-for-5 in Game 1. It was only his third 0-for-5 of 2024. He did have a few close calls though. Judge ran down his line drive in the first, Jazz Chisholm Jr. threw Witt out on a potential infield single, and Luke Weaver’s strike three call in the ninth could have easily been ball four. Witt had one of the better 0-for-5s you’ll see … Give him some time and I think Jazz is going to be a really, really good third baseman. He’s got all the tools for the position (first step quickness, range, arm, hands). He just needs to get more familiar there. Chisholm made a few really nice plays in Game 1. Also, Cabrera is surprisingly good at first base, no? He made several nice scoops and stretches Saturday. Cabrera has a Gio Urshela thing going on defensively where the numbers say he’s not good but the eye test says he’s a Gold Glover. He had a nice Game 1 … And finally, Weaver stranded a runner in the eighth and then cut right through Kansas City’s 1-2-3 hitters in the ninth for the save. He’s an animal. Also a former Royal. Weaver allowed 15 runs in 19.1 innings with Kansas City in 2022, then got non-tendered. Royals fans must be wondering where this Weaver was back then, but really, this happens to every team. Pitchers go elsewhere and get better. So it goes in the pitch design era. Glad Weaver is in pinstripes now. He’s struck out 28 of 49 batters faced since Sept. 1st, or 57.1%.