It's Yankees vs Royals in ALDS: Here’s what you need to know

NEW YORK – As the Yankees spent another day preparing for their playoff opener , two of their greatest AL challengers exited MLB’s October tournament.

After the surprising Detroit Tigers eliminated the hated Houston Astros on Wednesday, the Kansas City Royals dispatched the Baltimore Orioles in the other AL wild card series.

Not since the days of George Brett and Goose Gossage have the Yankees and Royals squared off in postseason, but that’s what we’ve got – beginning Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

It’s the Royals and Yankees for the best-of-five AL Division Series, with the winner taking on the team that advances from the Tigers-Cleveland Guardians Series for the AL pennant.

Yankees vs Royals October history, then and now

This was another year where the Yankees dominated the AL Central, and three teams from that division now stand in the way of the Yanks’ first pennant since 2009.

In 2024, the Yankees took five of seven games from the Royals, winning three of four at Kansas City in June and taking two of three in September at Yankee Stadium.

Fans of a certain vintage well recall the Yankees-Royals battles of the mid-to-late ‘70s, when the Yankees upended Kansas City in three straight AL Championship Series – 1976, ’77 and ’78 – when it was a best-of-five affair.

When the Royals finally turned the tables on the Yankees in a 1980 ALCS sweep, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner fired his manager, the late Dick Howser.

In 1985, Howser managed the Royals to their first world championship.

Royals: From last place in 2023 to playoffs in 2024

You might recall the Yankees, who missed the playoffs last year, ended their 2023 season at Kansas City.

In that series, Carlos Rodon – the Yanks’ Game 2 starter – couldn’t get out of the first inning, symbolic of his lost season and the Yanks’ underachievement.

Those 2023 Royals lost 106 games, but their up-and-coming talent base was boosted by some shrewd offseason pitching moves, led by right-hander Seth Lugo.

The former Mets starter and reliever, Lugo, 34, went 16-9 this season with a 3.00 ERA, and he threw his kitchen sink arsenal at the Yankees in a 5-0 Royals win on Sept. 10.

Lugo is expected to pitch Game 3, at Kansas City, with the terrific lefty Cole Ragans (acquired by the Royals last summer from the Texas Rangers for Aroldis Chapman) going in Game 2.

Brady Singer or the veteran Michael Wacha could pitch in Game 1.

Royals' star power

If Aaron Judge has a direct challenger for AL MVP this year, it’s the Royals wondrous shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., a true five-tool star.

Witt Jr. led the league with a .332 batting average, ending Judge’s shot at the AL Triple Crown, and he compiled a .977 OPS while stealing 31 bases.

Lefty-hitting Vinnie Pasquantino, a tough at-bat for any pitcher and a power threat, suffered a broken thumb in late August, but he made a surprising return to the Royals’ lineup in postseason as a designated hitter.

And the ageless catcher Salvador Perez, the heart of the Royals – a key member of the Royals’ 2014 AL champion and 2015 world championship clubs – is coming off a 27-homer season at age 34.

The Royals bullpen, viewed as a vulnerable area, held the Orioles’ scoreless for 7.2 innings in their two wild card games, with Lucas Erceg – the setup man for Oakland close Mason Miller, acquired from the Athletics at the trade deadline – securing the closer’s role.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: It's Yankees vs Royals in ALDS: Here’s what you need to know