Royals hyped for 'electric' return to KC after taking Game 2 on road

NEW YORK -- The Royals, at last, are coming home.

And they’ve got the momentum on their side in the American League Division Series after a 4-2 Game 2 win over the Yankees on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

It’s been more than two weeks since the Royals were last in Kansas City. Since then, they got their regular season back on track with a sweep in Washington D.C. They popped champagne twice, clinching a playoff berth in Atlanta and winning the AL Wild Card Series in Baltimore. They spent five days in New York and got what they came for: A split with the AL East champion Yankees in the Bronx.

Now the Royals are officially bringing postseason baseball back to Kauffman Stadium, a goal of theirs from the start of 2024 after hearing what the ‘14-15 runs were like and seeing how the sports city has embraced an NFL dynasty right across the parking lot at the Truman Sports Complex with the Chiefs -- who, by the way, are undefeated after beating the Saints on Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium.

A “Let’s go Royals” chant broke out there. The Royals had the end of the Chiefs’ game playing in the clubhouse postgame.

It’s a good time to be a Kansas City fan and an even better time to be in Kansas City – and the Royals can’t wait to join the party as the ALDS shifts to the Midwest for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday. If a Game 5 is necessary, it will be back in New York on Saturday.

• Yankees-Royals AL Division Series Game 3 FAQ (Wed., 7 ET/6 CT, TBS)

“It’s going to be electric,” shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “... Going back home is going to be a lot of fun. Get the boys right, getting hot at the right time. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

When a Division Series under the current 2-2-1 format has been tied after two games, the team heading home for Games 3-4 has gone on to win the series 29 of 44 times (66%).

“Looking forward to getting back to the K, seeing the fans there,” Royals starter Cole Ragans said. “It's going to be fun to have playoff baseball back in Kansas City. A split here is huge. It's basically like a brand-new series when we get to the K.”

The Royals are fully expecting their fanbase to show up on Wednesday for Game 3 and are looking forward to the noise and rowdiness on their side and not the other way around. Yankee Stadium reached a decibel peak in the top of the first inning Monday when Carlos Rodón struck out the side on 12 pitches and looked nearly unhittable in the process.

The Royals’ dugout took notice of the crowd -- and Rodon's animated reaction to the strikeouts -- in the first, with manager Matt Quatraro even thinking to himself that it was a lot of energy for one inning and Witt saying afterward that “everyone saw it.”

Three innings later, Rodón was out of the game after just 3 2/3 innings. Catcher Salvador Perez led off the inning with a game-tying home run, and the Royals strung four more hits together to take the lead and add to it.

“The first at-bat doesn't define the rest of the game,” said third baseman Maikel Garcia, who knocked four hits Monday night.

Witt added: “That’s why we play nine innings in this game. It’s not one inning, not two innings, it’s nine innings. You got to play the whole game. That’s what’s special about this team. We’re resilient, and we take it one thing, one inning at a time.”

Kansas City rode that big inning to back Ragans, who threw his second solid start of the postseason. Ragans walked four batters in four innings, but he allowed just one run while striking out five.

“Control was a little erratic,” Ragans said. “Felt like I made pitches when I had to make a pitch.”

After Ragans responded in the bottom of the fourth inning with a shutdown frame, Quatraro turned to his bullpen for the fifth. The bullpen’s shakiness in Game 1 didn’t change Quatraro’s faith in the unit when he asked his relievers for 15 outs.

Angel Zerpa, John Schreiber, Kris Bubic and Lucas Erceg gave him five innings, with only Erceg allowing a run with Jazz Chisholm’s leadoff home run in the ninth inning.

“You don't ever expect you're going to keep a team like that scoreless out of the bullpen,” Quatraro said. “But to keep them in check, that was more representative of what our guys can do than what the other night was.”

The Royals will fly home during Tuesday’s off-day before welcoming fans to The K on Wednesday. After so much time away and on the visiting side of stadiums, they’re ready for the support.

“Atlanta, they were in a playoff scenario,” Bubic said. “Baltimore, that place is loud. And this place for sure.

“But I've heard Kansas City is pretty loud, too.”