2024 American League Division Series
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season New York Yankees (3) Aaron Boone 94–68 (.580), GA: 3 Kansas City Royals (1) Matt Quatraro 86–76 (.531), GB:6+1⁄2
Dates	October 5–10
Television	TBS/TruTV Max
TV announcers	Bob Costas,Ron Darling, andJon Morosi
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Karl Ravech,Eduardo Pérez, andTim Kurkjian
Umpires	Lance Barksdale,Lance Barrett,Ryan Blakney,Mark Carlson (crew chief),Adam Hamari,Roberto Ortiz
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Cleveland Guardians (3) Stephen Vogt 92–69 (.571), GA:6+1⁄2 Detroit Tigers (2) A. J. Hinch 86–76 (.531), GB:6+1⁄2
Dates	October 5–12
Television	TBS/TruTV (Games 1–3, 5) TNT (Game 4) Max
TV announcers	Brian Anderson,Jeff Francoeur, and Lauren Jbara
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Dave O'Brien andGregg Olson
Umpires	Adam Beck,Ramon De Jesus,Chad Fairchild,Nick Mahrley,Todd Tichenor (crew chief),Jim Wolf
ALWC	Detroit Tigers overHouston Astros (2–0) Kansas City Royals overBaltimore Orioles (2–0)
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The2024 American League Division Series (ALDS) were the twobest-of-five playoff series inMajor League Baseball's (MLB)2024 postseason to determine the participating teams of the2024 American League Championship Series (ALCS). These matchups were:

• (1)New York Yankees (AL East champions) vs. (5)Kansas City Royals (Wild Card Series winner): Yankees win series, 3–1.
• (2)Cleveland Guardians (AL Central champions) vs. (6)Detroit Tigers (Wild Card Series winner): Guardians win series, 3–2.

The team with the better regular season record (higher seed) of each series hosted Games 1 and 2, and in Cleveland's case, hosted Game 5. The lower seeded team hosted Games 3 and 4.^[1][2]

The Yankees would go on to defeat the Guardians in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) by 4 games to 1, but would lose the 2024 World Series, 4 games to 1, to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The top two division winners (first two seeds) are determined by regular seasonwinning percentages. The final two teams are the winners of theAmerican League Wild Card Series, played between the league's third to sixth-seeded teams. This is the first American League Division Series since2016 to not feature theHouston Astros after they were swept in the Wild Card Series by the Tigers.

TheNew York Yankees (94–68) clinched a postseason berth on September 18, won both theAmerican League East and earned a first-round bye on September 26, and clinched home-field advantage throughout the American League postseason on September 28 after the Guardians lost to theHouston Astros.^[3][4][5] This is first time they held the best record in the American League since2012. The Yankees, who had made the postseason six straight years from 2017 to 2022, are returning to the postseason after missing out in2023. They played theKansas City Royals (86–76), who qualified for the postseason as the fifth seedwild card entrant due to their head-to-head record versus the Detroit Tigers, the team they finished tied with. The Royals swept theBaltimore Orioles in the Wild Card Series to advance to their first ALDS since2015, the year they won theWorld Series. New York won the season series, 5–2, outscoring Kansas City 42–24.^[6][7] This is a renewal of a classicplayoff rivalry from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, as both teams met in the American League Championship Series for four out of the five seasons (1976,1977,1978, and1980), with New York winning the first three, and Kansas City sweeping New York in1980. New York won the first game of the 2024 ALDS 6–5; the game featured six lead changes, more than any game in playoff history.^[8]

TheCleveland Guardians (92–69) clinched a postseason berth on September 19, won theAmerican League Central on September 21, and clinched a first-round bye on September 24.^[9][10][11] Like the Yankees, the Guardians are making their return to the postseason after missing out in2023. They played theDetroit Tigers (86–76), who qualified for the postseason as the sixth seedwild card entrant. They swept theAmerican League West division winnerHouston Astros in two games in the Wild Card Series to advance to their first ALDS since2014. The Guardians won 7–6 against the Tigers during the regular season. This was the first playoff meeting between the Tigers and Guardians. This was also be the first postseason match-up between American League Central teams (1995–present) to date.^[A]

New York won the series, 3–1.

Cleveland won the series, 3–2.

This was the fifth postseason meeting between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals. Their previous postseason meetings between theformer rivals took place in1976,1977,1978, and1980, all in the ALCS, with the Yankees winning the first three match-ups (winning in 1976 and 1977 on their last at bat) and the Royals winning in 1980. After 1980, the rivalry continued in1983 with thePine Tar Game, which was one of the most controversial incidents in MLB history.

In the first postseason meeting between the two teams since the1980 ALCS, the lead changed five times throughout the game, the most ever in MLB postseason history.^[21]Gerrit Cole started for the Yankees againstMichael Wacha for the Royals.Tommy Pham got the scoring started in the second inning with a sacrifice fly that scoredYuli Gurriel and made it 1-0 Royals. In the bottom of the third,Gleyber Torres hit a go-ahead two-run home run offMichael Wacha to give the Yankees their first lead at 2–1, scoringAlex Verdugo. In the top of the fourth,MJ Melendez hits a go-ahead two-run home run to give the Royals the lead back at 3–2, scoring Gurriel again. In the bottom of the fifth, bases-loaded walks byAustin Wells andAnthony Volpe put the Yankees back in front, 4–3. In the top of the sixth, after a crucial error by Volpe that moved Gurriel and Pham into scoring position,Garrett Hampson hit a two-run RBI single to score both runners and the Royals retook the lead again, 5–4. In the bottom of the sixth, Wells' RBI single scored Verdugo, tying the game at five. In the bottom of the seventh, Verdugo hit an RBI single to scoreJazz Chisholm Jr. and the Yankees retook the lead again 6–5, the fifth lead change of the game.Luke Weaver, in his first career postseason appearance, preserved the one-run lead for the Yankees to take a thrilling Game 1.

Game 2 matched New York'sCarlos Rodón against Kansas City'sCole Ragans. The Yankees scored first onGiancarlo Stanton's RBI single that scoredGleyber Torres in the bottom of the third. In the top of the fourth,Salvador Pérez's solo home run tied the game at one.Tommy Pham then hit an RBI single, scoringYuli Gurriel to give the Royals the lead at 2–1.Garrett Hampson then hit an RBI single, scoring Pham to extend the Royals' lead to 3–1.Maikel García hit another RBI single in the fourth for the Royals to extend their lead to 4–1 over the Yankees. In the bottom of the ninth,Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a home run offLucas Erceg to cut the Royals' lead to 4–2, but Erceg managed to get the save and win for the Royals, tying the series at 1-1.

This was the first postseason game in Kansas City since Game 2 of the2015 World Series.Seth Lugo started for the Royals whileClarke Schmidt started for the Yankees. In the top of the fourth,Giancarlo Stanton hit an RBI double offSeth Lugo to scoreJuan Soto, putting the Yankees on the board 1–0. In the top of the fifth, Soto hit a sacrifice fly, scoringAnthony Volpe to extend the Yankees' lead to 2–0. In the bottom of the fifth,Kyle Isbel hit an RBI double, followed by an RBI triple fromMichael Massey to tie the game at 2–2. In the top of the eighth, Stanton hit a home run offKris Bubic to put the Yankees back in the lead at 3–2.Luke Weaver closed the game with a five-out save preserving a one-run lead as the Yankees took a 2–1 series lead.

Gleyber Torres started Game 4 with a double onMichael Wacha's first pitch, followed by an RBI single fromJuan Soto to score Torres and put the Yankees on the board 1–0. In the top of the fifth, Torres hit an RBI single, scoringAlex Verdugo to extend the Yankees' lead to 2–0. In the top of the sixth,Giancarlo Stanton hit an RBI single, scoringAaron Judge as an insurance run to extend the Yankees' lead to 3–0. In the bottom of the sixth, thebenches were cleared for an on-field delay for a brief amount of time whenMaikel García was tagged out sliding to second base on a 3–6 double play byAnthony Volpe.^[22]Vinnie Pasquantino then hit an RBI double offGerrit Cole to scoreBobby Witt Jr., cutting the Yankees' lead to 3–1.Luke Weaver closed out the game and series with a perfect ninth for his third save of the series, sending the Yankees to their fourthALCS appearance in eight years.

The Yankees' series win ended closer Will Smith's unlikely streak of three consecutive World Series wins with three separate teams (the Atlanta Braves in 2021, the Houston Astros in 2022, and the Texas Rangers the previous year).

2024ALDS (3–1):New York Yankees beatKansas City Royals

This is the first postseason meeting between the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers.

Cleveland pounced on Detroit in the first inning of Game 1 as the Guardians plated five runs. The Guardians scored the first run of the game whenJosé Ramírez doubled, scoringSteven Kwan.Josh Naylor's RBI single extended the Guardians' lead to 2–0. At this time, starting Tigers pitcherTyler Holton was removed from the game without recording a single out. He allowed two hits and four earned runs.Lane Thomas then greeted relieverReese Olson with a three-run home run that gave the Guardians a 5–0 advantage. In the bottom of the sixth,David Fry hit an RBI double for two more runs to extend the Guardians' lead to 7–0, scoringJhonkensy Noel and Steven Kwan.Emmanuel Clase closed out the game as the Guardians took Game 1 and a 1–0 series lead.

The Guardians' five-run first inning tied for the most runs in the first inning in franchise playoff history.^[23]

Game 2 between the Tigers and Guardians went scoreless until the top of the ninth when the Tigers'Kerry Carpenter hit a three-run home run off Guardians closerEmmanuel Clase to break the tie.Beau Brieske closed out the game as the Tigers took Game 2 and evened the series at one game apiece.Tarik Skubal, the starting pitcher for the Tigers, went seven shutout innings while striking out eight in his performance.

Alex Cobb made his first postseason start since2013 for Game 3 against the Tigers.^[24] The Tigers scored the first run of Game 3 in the bottom of the first asRiley Greene's RBI single scoredParker Meadows. In the bottom of the third,Matt Vierling increased the Tigers' lead to 2–0 as Vierling hit a sacrifice fly, scoringJake Rogers. In the bottom of the sixth,Spencer Torkelson hit an RBI double, scoringColt Keith to extend the Tigers' lead to 3–0.Tyler Holton closed the game as the Tigers took a 2–1 series lead over the Guardians. With this victory, the Tigers shutout the Guardians for two consecutive games in the playoffs.

Game 4 opened with an RBI single byLane Thomas to scoreSteven Kwan in the top of the first, putting the Guardians on the board 1–0. In the bottom of the second,Trey Sweeney hit a sacrifice fly to scoreColt Keith, tying the game 1–1. In the top of the fifth,José Ramírez hit a home run offTyler Holton as the Guardians retook the lead at 2–1. In the bottom of the fifth,Zach McKinstry answered back with a home run offTanner Bibee to tie the game 2–2. In the bottom of the sixth,Wenceel Pérez hit an RBI single, scoringRiley Greene as the Tigers took the lead at 3–2. In the top of the seventh,David Fry hit a two-run home run offBeau Brieske as the Guardians retook the lead at 4–3. In the top of the ninth, Fry hit a sacrifice bunt for a squeeze play, scoringBrayan Rocchio from third base to extend the Guardians' lead to 5–3. In the bottom of the ninth,Justyn-Henry Malloy scored from third base on a soft RBI groundout byJace Jung to cut the Guardians' lead to 5–4.Emmanuel Clase closed the door by getting the save as the Guardians tied the series to force a winner-take-all Game 5 back in Cleveland. It was the first elimination game won by Cleveland since Game 6 of the1997 World Series; since that game, they had lost eleven playoff games where they were facing elimination, an MLB record.^[25]

Game 4's attendance of 44,923 was the largest for a postseason game in Comerica Park's history.^[26]

Game 5 featured a pitching rematch from Game 2 betweenMatthew Boyd andTarik Skubal, in which they both were teammates with the Tigers last year. Additionally, the start time of the game was moved from 8:08 p.m. ET to 1:08 p.m. ET to avoid inclement weather in Cleveland.^[27] In the bottom of the third, Skubal loaded the bases with two outs by intentionally walkingJosé Ramírez, and gotLane Thomas to pop out toSpencer Torkelson to escape a two-out bases-loaded jam to keep the game scoreless. In the top of the fifth,Kerry Carpenter hit an RBI single offAndrew Walters to scoreTrey Sweeney from first base after he drew a walk. In the bottom of the fifth, Ramírez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded by Skubal to put the Guardians on the board and tie the game at one.Lane Thomas then hit agrand slam off Skubal to put the Guardians in the lead at 5–1, scoringSteven Kwan,David Fry, and Ramírez. In the top of the sixth,Jake Rogers hit an RBI single, scoringSpencer Torkelson, cutting the Guardians' lead to 5–2.Hunter Gaddis then escaped a two-out bases-loaded jam to preserve a 5–2 lead for the Guardians. In the top of the seventh,Colt Keith hit an RBI double to scoreRiley Greene, cutting the Guardians' lead to 5–3. In the bottom of the seventh, Thomas hit an RBI single to score Kwan, extending the Guardians' lead to 6–3. In the bottom of the eighth,Brayan Rocchio hit an RBI single for an insurance run fromAndrés Giménez, extending the Guardians' lead to 7–3.Emmanuel Clase closed the game with a six-out save as the Guardians won the series and advanced to theAmerican League Championship Series for the first time since2016.

2024ALDS (3–2):Cleveland Guardians beatDetroit Tigers

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