New York Yankees look to rebound with Game 3 win against the Kansas City Royals
NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees will look to rebound from Monday night's 4-2 loss when they take on the Kansas City Royals on the road for Game 3 Wednesday night.
The Yankees, who took the opening game over the weekend, failed to capitalize on the early series lead, coming up short Monday with a series of missed opportunities.
One of the biggest reasons for concern has been Aaron Judge's slow start. After hitting 58 homers and driving in 144 runs during the regular season, the MVP front-runner's postseason struggles have continued against Kansas City. He has just a single infield hit, has yet to drive in a run and struck out four times through the first the first two games of the series.
Meanwhile, the Royals' own superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., has also been ice cold so far this series. The 24-year-old AL batting champion is 0 for 10 against New York with four strikeouts of his own, leaving the bottom of the Royals lineup to pick up the slack.
Potentially working in the Yankees favor, the Bronx Bombers were road warriors during regular season, going 50-31 away from New York. With the series now shifting to Kansas City for games 3 and 4, that could be a blessing in disguise for a team that's looking for a spark to pull ahead of the Royals.
Clarke Schmidt, who returned from a lat strain last month, will make his first career playoff start for New York on Wednesday after going 5-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 16 starts this season. The Royals will counter with Seth Lugo, who allowed four runs over 14 innings across two starts against the Yankees during the regular season.
"Obviously a very big swing game there, and going into a hostile environment, it should be a lot of fun," Schmidt said. "We treat every game as a must-win, but going to their place, we'll be ready to play."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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