Last night the Kansas City Royals took on the Baltimore Orioles for game two of their three-game wild card set. After winning game one 1-0, the Royals had the Orioles with their backs against the wall. After wasting a gem from Corbin Burnes on Tuesday, Baltimore gave Zach Eflin the ball for game two. As for the Royals, they pitched Seth Lugo, who was tenth in the MLB in ERA.
Lugo seemed to be a great choice as he struck out six and let up just one earned run which came on a home run from Cedric Mullins. Aside from that solo shot, the Orioles were unable to get anything going offensively, even when they had massive opportunities.
In a tie game in the fifth inning, a single, a walk, and a fielding error left the bases loaded for Anthony Santander who had the fourth most home runs in the league during the regular season. Unfortunately for Baltimore, Santander popped out and the next two batters came up short, stranding three men on base.
It felt like the Orioles lost any and all momentum after that, managing only one more hit for the remainder of the game. Baltimore’s struggling offense combined with Kansas City’s stellar pitching led to a 2-1 victory for the Royals.
After the game Bobby Witt Jr., the Royals star shortstop said, “This group is special…and we’re not done yet.” The win propels Kansas City to the ALDS for the first time since 2015. They will now fly to New York where they will face the first-place Yankees in a five-game series. Game one will take place this Saturday at 6:40 p.m. EST on TBS.
