4 'must-haves' for a KC Royals win in ALDS Game 3

The Kansas City Royals will continue their surprise-packed season on Wednesday night when the MLB Playoffs return to Kauffman Stadium for the first time in almost a decade. Not since 2015 have the Royals hosted a postseason game, but that frustrating dry spell will end when they try to break their 1-1 American League Division Series tie with the New York Yankees at 6:08 p.m. CDT.

Snapping the series deadlock won't be easy; nothing usually is in the postseason. But if the Royals accomplish four key things — "must-haves," if you will — they should end the evening one win shy of a berth in the AL Championship Series against either the Detroit Tigers or Cleveland Guardians.

So what things need to happen on Wednesday for the Royals to dominate?

Must-have No. 1: A shut-down performance from Seth Lugo

Some uncertainty surrounded the Kansas City rotation after Sunday's Game 1 loss to New York. The Royals didn't hesitate to name Cole Ragans as their Game 2 starter, but remained mum about Game 3.

The mystery ended late Monday night when MLB.com KC beat writer Anne Rogers reported Seth Lugo will start the contest.

Lugo needs to be at his best. The owner of 16 regular season victories, the most by any Royals pitcher since Jason Vargas won 18 in 2017, Lugo's primary task will be to make sure Yankee slugger Aaron Judge, who has only managed only a single and not one RBI in seven ALDS at-bats, remains quiet, and to keep his New York teammates from picking up the slack.

Lugo seems the perfect choice to achieve both goals. He gave the Yankees only four runs over 14 regular-season innings, and beat them on September 10 with a dominating 10-strikeout, no-run, no-walk seven-inning effort. He's also 5-2 with a 2.55 ERA in 14 career appearances against the Yanks.

Must-have No. 2: Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino need to bring the lumber

That the Royals are tied with New York is a testament not to what Witt Jr. and Pasquantino have done at the plate; instead, the offensive credit goes to the rest of the lineup, especially Garratt Hampson and Maikel Garcia. Witt Jr. is 0-for-10 and Pasquantino 0-for-9 in the ALDS.

Other Royals stepping up is nice, and the club would be facing elimination on Wednesday without them — but this team can't afford to rely on players with less power and punch to carry the entire load. There's hope, however.

Although Pasquantino's swung a quiet bat since returning from the Injured List, he had some hard-hit balls in Game 2. And it's unreasonable to believe Witt Jr. won't heat up soon. Game 3 would be an excellent time for both Royals to break out.

Must have No. 3: The Royals need to score in more than one inning

All too often, the Royals seem to squeeze all, or most, of their runs into one (sometimes two) innings. Such was the case in Game 2 when they scored every one of their four runs in an exciting fourth frame that Salvador Pérez began with a stunning, crowd-quieting home run.

But bunching runs into isolated innings isn't something these Royals can abide. The Yankees are too powerful and too explosive — their 237 regular-season home runs led the major leagues and the 815 runs they plated were the most of any American League club.

It's incumbent on Kansas City, then, to find ways to score more often.

Must-have No. 4: The bullpen must continue its bullish ways

The astonishing turnaround of a bullpen that before September was the Royals' weakest link has baseball buzzing. Suddenly a lock-down component of a club seeking more than the Wild Card berth it grabbed during the season's final week — and more than the Division Championship it's fighting for now — the KC bullpen has the second-best postseason ERA (2.16) of the eight teams still alive in the MLB Playoffs.

In three relief appearances apiece, John Schreiber and Kris Bubic haven't been charged with a run. Lucas Erceg has saves in each of his three games. Ángel Zerpa gave the Yankees a run in Game 1, but held them scoreless in his one Game 2 inning. Sam Long surrendered a run Monday night, but none in his two previous postseason outings.

Those are the kinds of efforts the Royals need Wednesday night. The way this bullpen is humming, all it needs is a lead, and Kansas City should be in good shape.

More MLB Playoffs News from Kings of Kauffman