The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 3-1 in the 2024 ALDS. They won Game 1 6-5 at Yankee Stadium on October 5, dropped Game 2 4-2 on October 7, then won 3-2 and 3-1 at Kauffman Stadium on October 9 and 10. Giancarlo Stanton's eighth-inning homer decided Game 3, and Gerrit Cole closed it out.
Aaron Judge hit .154 in this series. The Yankees won it anyway, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Old Rivals, New Faces
The Royals had no business being here, and I mean that as a compliment. They lost 106 games in 2023. A year later they went 86-76, grabbed the fifth seed, and swept Baltimore in the Wild Card Series without allowing more than one run in either game.
It was the first October meeting between these two clubs since the 1980 ALCS, when George Brett and company finally swept the Yankees after losing three ALCS matchups to them in 1976, '77 and '78. (Royals fans have long memories. So do we.)
The 2024 Yankees had gone 94-68, won the AL East, and earned the top seed. They also had a bullpen that had spent September making everyone nervous. That part matters later.
Game 1: Five Lead Changes and a Sliding Catch
Game 1 was a mess, and I loved every minute of it. The lead changed hands five times, the most ever in a postseason game at that point, according to Elias. (Cardiologists in the tri-state area did brisk business.)
Gerrit Cole wasn't sharp. He gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits and didn't get an out in the sixth. The Royals went up 1-0 in the second, Gleyber Torres answered with a two-run homer in the third, and MJ Melendez took Cole deep for two in the fourth to make it 3-2.
That's when Alex Verdugo saved the night. With two Royals aboard, Michael Massey lifted a fly down the left-field line. Verdugo slid, the ball hit the heel of his glove, bounced off his chest, and he grabbed it with his bare hand. Inning over.
Two bases-loaded walks in the fifth put the Yankees ahead 4-3. Then Anthony Volpe threw away a potential double-play ball in the sixth, and pinch-hitter Garrett Hampson singled in two off Tim Hill. Royals 5-4.
Austin Wells, who'd been stuck in a 2-for-43 slide, tied it with a two-out single off Michael Lorenzen in the bottom half. In the seventh, Verdugo singled off Lorenzen to score Jazz Chisholm Jr., and that was the game. Clay Holmes threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win. Luke Weaver, in his first postseason game, got the last four outs. Yankees 6, Royals 5.
Game 2: Salvy Does Salvy Things
Carlos Rodon struck out seven and didn't walk anybody. He also gave up four runs in 3 2/3 innings, all of them in one ugly fourth.
The Yankees led 1-0 on a Giancarlo Stanton RBI single in the third when Salvador Perez led off the fourth by putting a 2-0 slider in the left-field seats. (Salvy's been doing this to everybody for a decade. We weren't special.) Tommy Pham, Hampson and Maikel Garcia followed with RBI singles, and Kansas City had all the runs it needed.
The Yankees' only other run came on a Chisholm leadoff homer in the ninth. Torres grounded out to end it with Juan Soto on deck. Royals 4, Yankees 2, and the series went to Kansas City tied.
Game 3: "This Is What I Came Here For"
Clarke Schmidt made his first career postseason start, and he was fine until he wasn't. The Yankees built a 2-0 lead on a Stanton RBI double in the fourth and a Soto sacrifice fly in the fifth. Kansas City tied it with two outs in the bottom of the fifth on Kyle Isbel's RBI double and Massey's RBI triple.
Then the bullpens took over, and the Yankees' bullpen won.
In the eighth, Stanton got a 3-1 slider from Kris Bubic and hit it 417 feet to left. Yankees 3-2. He finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and, for good measure, his first stolen base in more than four years. (Nobody saw that coming. Probably including Stanton.)
This is what I came here for.
Holmes, Tommy Kahnle and Weaver combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Weaver got the last five outs. He'd only taken over the ninth inning a month earlier, and he already looked like he'd done it forever.
Game 4: Cole Finishes It
Cole on regular rest was a different pitcher. Torres doubled on Michael Wacha's first pitch of the night, Soto singled him home two pitches later, and the Yankees led before the Royals recorded an out.
Torres singled in another run in the fifth to chase Wacha. In the sixth, Judge doubled and Stanton smoked a single to center to make it 3-0. Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino got one back in the bottom half with a single and a double, but Cole got Perez to pop out and kept going.
The scare came in the seventh. Isbel drove one to deep right with a runner aboard, and for a second it looked like a tying homer. Soto drifted back and caught it at the wall in front of the Royals' bullpen. (I aged a year. Maybe two.)
Cole finished seven innings on 87 pitches: six hits, one run, no walks, four strikeouts. Holmes threw a perfect eighth, Weaver took the ninth, and the Yankees were headed back to the ALCS. Yankees 3, Royals 1.
I've got to be honest with you, the Royals are a damn good ballclub. That was a really tough series.
The Bullpen Won This Series
Yankee relievers didn't allow an earned run in 15 2/3 innings against Kansas City. Holmes, who'd lost the closer's job in September, threw five scoreless innings. Weaver saved all three wins.
That's the story. Judge went 2-for-13. The Royals' best hitters went cold too, but the difference was that the Yankees' bullpen, the unit everyone in the Bronx spent September worrying about, didn't blink.
The Yankees moved on to the ALCS against Cleveland, where Stanton kept hitting and Soto hit the biggest homer of the year. You can trace both of those back to a Wednesday night in Kansas City.
| Series Result | Yankees 3, Royals 1 |
| Game 1 (Oct. 5, New York) | Yankees 6, Royals 5 |
| Game 2 (Oct. 7, New York) | Royals 4, Yankees 2 |
| Game 3 (Oct. 9, Kansas City) | Yankees 3, Royals 2 |
| Game 4 (Oct. 10, Kansas City) | Yankees 3, Royals 1 |
| Stanton, Game 3 | 3-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, SB |
| Cole, Game 4 | 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K (87 pitches) |
| Weaver, Series | 3 saves, 4 IP, 0 R, 5 K |
| Holmes, Series | 5 IP, 0 R |
| Yankees Bullpen | 15 2/3 IP, 0 ER |
| Judge, Series | 2-for-13 (.154) |
| Royals 2024 Record | 86-76 (106 losses in 2023) |
Game 1: Verdugo's Night
Five lead changes, a barehanded sliding catch, and a seventh-inning go-ahead single from Verdugo. Weaver gets four outs for the save. Yankees 6, Royals 5.
Game 2: Royals Even It
Salvador Perez's leadoff homer starts a four-run fourth against Rodon. Royals 4, Yankees 2.
Game 3: Stanton Breaks the Tie
Stanton doubles in a run, then homers off Kris Bubic in the eighth. The bullpen throws 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Yankees 3, Royals 2.
Game 4: Cole Clinches
Cole throws seven innings of one-run ball, and Soto robs Kyle Isbel at the wall. Yankees 3, Royals 1.
Pennant
Soto's 10th-inning homer in Cleveland wins the ALCS in five games and sends the Yankees to their first World Series since 2009.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who did the Yankees play in the 2024 ALDS?
The Kansas City Royals. The Yankees won the series 3-1, taking Game 1 6-5 at Yankee Stadium on October 5, losing Game 2 4-2 on October 7, and winning Games 3 and 4 at Kauffman Stadium, 3-2 on October 9 and 3-1 on October 10.
Who hit the go-ahead home run in Game 3 of the 2024 ALDS?
Giancarlo Stanton. With the score tied 2-2 in the eighth inning, he hit a 3-1 slider from Royals reliever Kris Bubic 417 feet to left field. He finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and a stolen base.
How did the Yankees bullpen pitch in the 2024 ALDS?
Yankee relievers didn't allow an earned run in 15 2/3 innings. Luke Weaver saved all three wins without allowing a run, and Clay Holmes threw five scoreless innings.
When was the last time the Yankees and Royals met in the postseason before 2024?
The 1980 ALCS, when Kansas City swept the Yankees. The teams had also met in the ALCS in 1976, 1977 and 1978, and the Yankees won all three of those.