Judge and Rodón unable to deliver as Yankees drop Game 2 to Royals in ALDS
NEW YORK (AP) — Two games into this postseason, those big-money deals for Aaron Judge and Carlos Rodón haven’t paid any October dividends for the New York Yankees. Judge mustered little at the plate again Monday night and Rodón failed to last four innings in his first playoff start with New York during a 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals that squared their best-of-five AL Division Series at one apiece. Game 3 is Wednesday night in Kansas City. Given a 1-0 lead going into the fourth, Rodón immediately squandered it by serving up a leadoff homer to Salvador Perez on a 2-0 slider that left the $162 million pitcher shaking his head. Judge is 1 for 7 with four strikeouts and no RBIs in the series.
Carpenter’s 3-run homer off Clase sends gritty Tigers to 3-0 win over Guardians in Game 2 of ALDS
CLEVELAND (AP) — Kerry Carpenter hit a three-run homer off Cleveland’s All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning as the Detroit Tigers blanked the Guardians 3-0 in Game 2 to even their AL Division Series at one game apiece. Carpenter connected for a 423-foot shot with two outs off Clase, who had not given up a run since Aug. 30 and led the league with 47 saves. Detroit ace Tarik Skubal pitched seven shutout innings. Carpenter’s homer was the first runs of the series for the Tigers, who have been finding ways to win for months. They’re at it again and will now head home to Comerica Park for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday with a chance to advance.
Royals pitcher Cole Ragans warms up for Yankees by playing catch in Central Park
NEW YORK (AP) — Cole Ragans started his AL Division Series with a walk in the park. On Sunday, the Kansas City Royals left-hander took a 11-minute stroll from the team’s hotel in midtown Manhattan and played catch in Central Park on the Heckscher Ballfields, just as so many amateur baseball and softball players do each day. On Monday, he was an 8-mile drive away on the mound at Yankee Stadium and allowed one run over four innings in Kansas City’s 4-2 win over the New York Yankees that evened their AL Division Series at one game apiece.