AL Division Series Game 2’s game thread

More playoff baseball!

Yesterday we got to continue the National League playoffs and were served up a couple interesting games, on and off the field. Now today we get to continue the American League playoffs with a couple of game two’s. And that means a couple teams are desperate for a win to avoid falling down 0-2 in the series.

First up: the Detroit Tigers continue their series in Cleveland against the Guardians. Detroit came out flat in Game 1, falling behind big early and never getting back in the game. Today promises to be a bit different for the Tigers as they’ll be sending their ace and likely AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to the mound for today’s contest. The Guardians will have their hands full and then some against the left-handed Skubal. They need their ace more than ever today as they do not want to go back to Detroit in an 0-2 hole.

The Guardians will counter with their own left-hander in Matthew Boyd. A long-time arm with the Tigers, Boyd has only pitched in eight games this season but has been dominant in those outings, positing a 2.72 ERA on the season. Was that a short sample size, or has Boyd unlocked something and is ready to show it against his former team? First pitch is scheduled for 1:08 P.M.

After the Tigers-Guardians it’s time for the nightcap. That game will feature the Kansas City Royals taking on the New York Yankees. New York took Game 1 and will be hoping to take that commanding 2-0 lead that puts them one win away from the ALCS while the Royals will be hoping to steal one in the Bronx before heading back to Kansas City.

Kansas City will send lefty Cole Ragans out to the mound hoping he can provide a spark for the Royals. He looked like a playoff veteran in his first postseason outing last time out, firing six shutout innings while racking up 8 strikeouts against the Orioles. Pitching under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium can be another thing though. And facing a Yankee lineup that features Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, he has his work cut out for him in arguably the biggest game yet of his young career. So no pressure on the 26-year-old left-hander.

The Yankees, having gotten the first-round bye, were able to set up their rotation and got to line up their preferred Game 2 starter. That’ll be another left-hander in Carlos Rodon, so we have a lefty-vs-lefty matchup on our hands. Rodon came to the Yankees last year but his first season in New York went poorly. This year has gone a lot better for the high-investment lefty as he tossed 175 innings while posting a 3.96 ERA on the year. Still not what the Yankees were hoping for when they shelled out $162MM for him but at least he was healthy. He picked it up down the stretch, pitching to a 2.68 ERA over his final seven games, but he’s only got two post season games of experience so in that department these two left-handers are basically even.

So who are you picking to win? Comment below!