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Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees Make Baseball History in Game 1

The Kansas City Royals lost on Saturday night, but they were a part of some baseball history.

Brady Farkas

New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo (24) reacts after hitting an RBI single during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals during game one of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on Oct 5.
New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo (24) reacts after hitting an RBI single during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals during game one of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on Oct 5. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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The Kansas City Royals lost in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night, losing 6-5 to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

The Royals advanced to the ALDS by beating the Baltimore Orioles in the American League wild card round. The Yankees had earned a first-round bye, so that was their first playoff game of the year.

Though it was a tough loss for Kansas City, it was an exciting game from a fan standpoint. According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, the game made some playoff history.

Royals-Yankees is the first game in postseason history with five lead changes

h/t @EliasSports

The Royals took a 1-0 lead, with the Yankees coming back to go up 2-1. Kansas City got ahead 3-2 before the Yankees got up 4-3. The Royals then took a 5-4 lead before the Yankees ultimately came back and tied the game at 5-5. An Alex Verdugo hit gave the Yankees the eventual 6-5 win.

Clay Holmes got the win on the mound for New York while Luke Weaver got the save.

The two teams will be off on Sunday, so they will be able to reset their bullpens for Game 2, which will be played on Monday.

In that Monday game, the Royals will send lefty Cole Ragans to the mound. The 2024 All-Star was 11-9 with a 3.14 ERA. The Yankees will start Carlos Rodon, who went 16-9 with a 3.96.

First pitch in that game is set for 7:38 p.m. ET. The series will then shift to Kansas City for the Royals first home playoff game since 2015.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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