Takeaways from Yankees-Royals Game 2: Aaron Judge's October struggles continue

The Kansas City Royals are heading back home with plenty of momentum.

On Monday, Kansas City survived a ninth-inning scare to defeat the New York Yankees 4-2 on the road in Game 2 of the American League Division Series. With the series now tied 1-1, the Royals aim to wrap things up at Kauffman Stadium and avoid returning to the Bronx for a potential Game 5.

Here are three takeaways from the Royals' win: 

Royals should feel extremely confident heading into Game 3 

Although the series is tied, and the Royals don't have as talented of a roster on paper as the Yankees, they should be optimistic about their chances of wrapping things up at home.

Kansas City scored just three runs against Baltimore in the wild-card series, but the offense finally began to wake up at Yankee Stadium. After collecting nine hits and scoring five runs in a back-and-forth 6-5 loss on Saturday, the Royals racked up 11 hits and four runs on Monday with seven batters reaching base safely.

The most impressive aspect of the Royals' offensive surge — and what should give the team added confidence going forward — is that the lineup has produced without superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. making an impact. Witt, who drove in the game-winning run in each of Kansas City's first two playoff contests, hasn't recorded a hit in the ALDS and has struck out four times.

Witt should be able to get back on track in Kansas City, considering he posted a ridiculous .382 batting average with 118 hits, 14 home runs and 57 RBI in 81 home games during the regular season.

Even so, regardless of whether Witt rebounds, the Royals are playing like a complete team while the Yankees are struggling to do the same. As long as Kansas City receives more production from a few unlikely contributors in Game 3 and ace Seth Lugo performs up to his usual standards, it wouldn't be surprising to see the team take a 2-1 series lead. 

Aaron Judge’s postseason struggles continue 

Despite being one of the best power hitters of all time, the soon-to-be two-time AL MVP continues to be a disappointing postseason performer.

Judge entered Monday's action batting just .206 with 13 home runs and 25 RBI across 45 career postseason games, according to StatMuse. The six-time All-Star's postseason stats since 2020 are even more alarming as Judge has posted a dismal .143 batting average with five homers and eight RBI over his last 19 playoff appearances.

After failing to record a hit in Saturday's Game 1 win over Kansas City, Judge saw his postseason struggles return on Monday. He finished 1-for-3 at the plate with one walk and a strikeout, though it's worth noting his lone hit was a leadoff infield single in the eighth inning. Judge's strikeout also came with two runners on base for New York, which is already the third time this series he's struck out in such a situation.

As per the TBS broadcast, Judge now has the highest strikeout rate in MLB postseason history (34.3 percent). 

The Yankees desperately need Judge to change the narrative surrounding his postseason play in Kansas City, especially since this was arguably considered their easiest path to the World Series in several years. If he fails to do so, it's hard to make the case that Judge is truly an all-time great player. 

LHP Carlos Rodon's outing sums up his Yankees tenure 

There's no doubt that Rodon hasn't lived up to the six-year, $162 million deal he signed with New York in 2022. The 31-year-old posted a disastrous 6.85 ERA during an injury-plagued debut season with the Yankees in 2023, and while he improved this year, he still struggled with consistency.

The story was much of the same for Rodon during Monday's loss. The left-hander was brilliant to begin the game, striking out the side in the first inning and retiring six of the first seven batters he faced. However, Rodon started to lose steam in the third inning, allowing two base hits and four balls to be put into play, though he got out of trouble thanks to his team's defense.

Things only got worse in the fourth inning with Rodon completely imploding. Royals catcher Salvador Perez led off the inning with a solo homer and first baseman Yuli Gurriel immediately followed with a single before advancing to second base on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Tommy Pham drove in another run, and after Rodon struck out his next batter, the Royals outfielder scored on a Garrett Hampson RBI single.

Rodon was promptly removed from the game, but would be responsible for another earned run after reliever Ian Hamilton gave up an RBI single to Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia. Overall, Rodon allowed seven hits and four earned runs in 3.2 innings while notching seven strikeouts in his Yankees postseason debut. 

It's clear Rodon is far too inconsistent to be relied upon as the No. 2 starter for a team with World Series aspirations. If the Yankees end up advancing to the ALCS, manager Aaron Boone may have no choice but to move Rodon to the bullpen.