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The Detriot Tigers and the Kansas City Royals advance to another day of MLB postseason play.
The American League Division Series games are all set after both Wild Card games resulted in 2-0 sweeps Wednesday.
The @Royals complete the sweep and will meet the Yankees in the #ALDS 💪 pic.twitter.com/HCtxGbsqI5
— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2024
Kansas City Royals
The Royals punched their ticket to the ALDS after taking down the Orioles in a 2-1 nail-biter and their first playoff series win since 2015.
The Royals came in to Camden Yards and made a huge statement. Game 1 of the series consisted of 41,506 fans who left stunned when the Royals defeated their home team, 1-0, Tuesday.
It was a battle between the top two picks from the 2019 MLB draft: Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman was selected first and Royals shortstop Bobbly Witt Jr. was right behind him.
Witt got the last say in this series with the deciding runs batted in in both games.
In Game 1, Witt brought home the only run when he singled in the sixth inning to score Maikel Garcia.
Game 2 felt like deja vu. In the sixth inning, yet again, Witt hit a grounder behind second base, allowing Kyle Isbel to score and put the Royals up 2-1 with the eventual winning run.
Bob’s got wheels! pic.twitter.com/43N4Nk7H8V
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) October 2, 2024
A series that came as a shock to some MLB fans, as the Royals had two seven-game losing streaks last month. However, Baltimore and the postseason do not mix well. It’s the Orioles’ 10th consecutive postseason loss.
The Orioles struggled to convert in the series by going 5 for 32 with runners in scoring position.
The Royals ended a nine-year postseason drought and advance to face the New York Yankees in the best-of-five ALDS starting at 6:38 p.m. ET Saturday on TBS. It’s the first playoff meeting between the teams since 1980.
Detriot Tigers
The Tigers also stepped onto the Astros field and came out with a sweep after winning 5-2 on Wednesday and 3-1 Tuesday.
Detroit ended Houston’s streak of seven consecutive appearances in the AL Championship Series.
THESE GRITTY TIGS ARE ALDS BOUND. #RepDetroit pic.twitter.com/LtMoO0n4H0
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) October 2, 2024
The difference maker in Game 1 was Detriot pitcher Tarik Skubal. Skubal has 228 strikeouts and a 2.39 ERA this season. His stellar season just continued in his playoff debut. Skubal allowed four singles and walked only one in six innings.
The Tigers just poured on Astros pitcher Framber Valdez in the top of the second with three runs and four hits. Jake Rogers hit a RBI single that pushed Wenceel Pérez home. The same inning, Trey Sweeney also hit an RBI single to score Parker Meadows. Matt Vierling then singled to push Rogers home and give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
The Astros scored one in the bottom of the ninth but it was too late.
Game 2 went similarly with the Tigers scoring four runs on three hits in the top of the eighth after being down 2-1 entering the inning.
Detroit now travels to Cleveland to take on the Guardians at 1:08 p.m. ET Saturday on TBS.
