The American League Division Series is moving to Kauffman Stadium for Game 3, and the Royals are excited to have home-field advantage. After splitting the first two games in New York, the Royals see this as a fresh start. The Yankees, who had the best record in the AL during the regular season, are not going down without a fight.
Game 3 of the ALDS will take place on Wednesday at 7:08 p.m. ET/6:08 p.m. CT and can be watched on TBS, truTV, and Max. MLB.TV also offers live streaming of all games in the U.S., with authentication from a participating Pay TV provider required.
The starting pitchers for Game 3 will be Clarke Schmidt for the Yankees and Seth Lugo for the Royals. Schmidt will make his first career postseason start after posting a 2.85 ERA in 16 starts this season. Lugo had an impressive outing in his first postseason start against the Orioles and brings a 3.00 ERA into Game 3.
Both teams have strong bullpens ready to go after their starters exit the game. The Yankees’ bullpen performed well in Game 2, throwing over five scoreless innings, while Kris Bubic and closer Lucas Erceg are available for relief duty for Kansas City.
In terms of injuries, both teams made it through Game 2 without any new concerns. The Yankees’ Anthony Rizzo and Nestor Cortes Jr., as well as DJ LeMahieu, are still recovering from injuries but hope to return later in the playoffs if their team advances.
As for player performance so far in this series, Gleyber Torres has been getting on base consistently for the Yankees with four walks across two games. For Kansas City’s offense to succeed against New York’s strong pitching staff, they’ll need key players like Bobby Witt Jr., Nick Pratto, and Salvador Perez to step up.
It’s worth noting that there won’t be an off-day between Games 3 and 4 like there was between previous matchups in this series. This could impact how managers handle their bullpens going forward.
Lastly, it’s been quite some time since Kansas City played at Kauffman Stadium due to an extended road trip at end of September; however they’re back home now where they last played a postseason game back in 2015.