Royals-Yankees ALDS Game 1 FAQ, lineups

NEW YORK -- Think of the most intense moments when the uncivil war between the Yankees and Red Sox was at its most furious a couple of decades back: Pedro Martinez threatening to hit Jorge Posada in the head, Jason Varitek jamming his glove into Alex Rodriguez’s face, Don Zimmer tumbling to the turf at Fenway Park.

Would it surprise you to learn that the dislike the Yankees and Royals shared was once just as fierce, if not more so? One of baseball’s great rivalries will be rekindled in the American League Division Series, with the Royals earning the right to return to the Bronx by sweeping the Orioles in the AL Wild Card Series.

In a series highlighted by a showdown between the American League’s leading Most Valuable Player candidates in Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr., get ready to see plenty of low-definition throwback moments playing in the background.

“We’re excited about the challenge,” Royals designated hitter Vinnie Pasquantino said. “The outside noise doesn’t matter. We’re focused on what’s going on inside this clubhouse and [what] we can control. We’re going to go compete. Go do whatever we can to win those games, just like we did here. We’ve got the expectation that we’re going to go win. That’s what we do. We expect to go win.”

For fans of a certain age, this showdown means plenty: four times in five years from 1976-80, the Royals and Yankees played with a trip to the World Series on the line, with the Yanks winning three of those four.

It is the matchup of Chris Chambliss’ pennant-winning homer off Mark Littell, of Hal McRae sliding hard into Willie Randolph, and later of George Brett’s fury after being ruled out for using a bat with a bit too much pine tar.

Who knows what the next installment may bring? We can’t wait to find out.

Who are the starting pitchers?
Royals: The Royals are tabbing right-hander Michael Wacha for Game 1 after not needing him during the Wild Card Series. They clinched before he stepped on the mound, so he should be more than ready by Saturday. Wacha finished his first season as a Royal with a 3.35 ERA across 29 starts, and he brings a career 4-3 record and 5.21 ERA in the postseason into the ALDS. For Game 2, the Royals will have lefty Cole Ragans take the mound for his second postseason start after earning the win in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday.

Yankees: Right-hander Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.41 ERA in 17 games) is the AL’s reigning Cy Young Award winner, though he had an up-and-down campaign after sustaining a right elbow injury in Spring Training that delayed his season debut until June 19. Cole finished the season strong, firing a two-hit complete game on Sept. 20 at Oakland and 6 2/3 scoreless innings on Sept. 26 vs. Baltimore. He did not face the Royals this season. Cole is 10-6 with a 2.93 ERA in 17 career postseason starts.

What are the starting lineups?
Royals: The Royals are itching to break out of a quiet offensive stretch, although three runs across two games got the job done in Baltimore. Against righty Cole, the Royals went with the same lineup that they utilized against the O's for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, especially with Tommy Pham’s past performance against the Yankees ace (11-for-29 with two homers and six RBIs):

1. Michael Massey, 2B
2. Bobby Witt Jr., SS
3. Vinnie Pasquantino, DH
4. Salvador Perez, C
5. Yuli Gurriel, 1B
6. MJ Melendez, LF
7. Tommy Pham, RF
8. Kyle Isbel, CF
9. Maikel Garcia, 3B

Yankees: The Yankees' plans in left field and at first base will be fluid throughout this postseason. For ALDS Game 1, manager Aaron Boone opted to go with Alex Verdugo over Jasson Domínguez in the outfield, prioritizing defense and counting on Verdugo's offensive track record. Oswaldo Cabrera got the starting nod at first base over rookie Ben Rice.

1. Gleyber Torres, 2B
2. Juan Soto, RF
3. Aaron Judge, CF
4. Austin Wells, C
5. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
6. Jazz Chisholm Jr., 3B
7. Anthony Volpe, SS
8. Oswaldo Cabrera, 1B
9. Alex Verdugo, LF

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Royals: The Royals’ bullpen did not allow a run across 7 2/3 innings in the Wild Card Series, continuing an incredible stretch for the unit in the final month of the season. Lefties Sam Long and Kris Bubic are used to set up closer Lucas Erceg, but manager Matt Quatraro feels just as confident going to lefty Angel Zerpa and righty John Schreiber earlier in the game like he did Wednesday. Daniel Lynch IV, Brady Singer and Michael Lorenzen give the Royals length.

Yankees: Luke Weaver is the de facto closer, having converted all four save chances since taking over for All-Star Clay Holmes, who tied a club record with 13 blown saves. Jake Cousins, Ian Hamilton, Tim Hill, Holmes, Tommy Kahnle and Tim Mayza all could have predetermined lanes for this series.

Any injuries of note?
Royals: Pasquantino is back and in the lineup after missing a month with a broken right thumb, and the Royals’ slugger proved he was feeling just fine when he roped an RBI single to begin the scoring in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. Other than that, the Royals aren’t expecting any of their injured relievers to return, although lefty Will Smith and righty Chris Stratton both threw live BP during Friday’s workout to stay ready in case they’re needed.

Yankees: Cousins (right pectoral strain) bounced back well from a simulated game on Thursday and will be available for the ALDS. Rizzo (two fractured fingers on right hand) and left-hander Nestor Cortes (left elbow flexor strain) aren’t likely to be back until a potential AL Championship Series at the earliest. Infielder DJ LeMahieu (right hip impingement) is also trying to be a playoff option, but he won’t be ready for the ALDS.

Who is hot and who is not?
Royals: Witt has had as good of a start to his postseason career as you could have asked for with the game-winning hit in both Wild Card Series games. Massey also went 3-for-8 in the first two games this October. But the Royals’ offense is still fairly quiet, and they’ll need to find ways to score early and often, especially in the Bronx.

But … the pitching has been so good that the Royals haven’t needed to put up crooked numbers. Kansas City allowed just one run in 18 innings in the Wild Card Series. It will look to continue that as much as it can against a high-powered Yankees offense.

Yankees: Cole has a 0.57 ERA and a .080 batting average against over his past 15 2/3 innings. Judge had homered in five consecutive games before getting a day off on Sept. 27; he struck out five times the next day. Torres was 13-for-36 (.361) over his last eight games, with three doubles and one homer. Soto had hits in 10 of his last 12 games, slashing .333/.480/.564 (13-for-39) over that span with three doubles and two homers.

Anything else fans might want to know?

• The Yankees have not announced their starter for Game 3, with Boone saying the choice is between Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt. Schmidt will be available in relief for Games 1 and 2.
• This is the first time since 2012 that the Yankees (94-68) have owned the AL’s best record, guaranteeing them home-field advantage through the AL playoffs.
• Kansas City and New York played seven games this season, with the Yankees winning five. The Yanks won three of four at Kansas City from June 10-13, denied a sweep by Garcia’s two-run walk-off double off Holmes. The Yanks took two of three in the Bronx Sept. 9-11, including Chisholm’s walk-off 11th-inning single in the series finale.
• During the regular season, the Yanks outscored Kansas City, 42-24, and out homered them,10-5, across the seven games. The Yankees won 24 of 31 vs. the AL Central in 2024, the best record of any team vs. any division in MLB.