Playoff Baseball In Baltimore, What's Better Than That? Bring Me The Royals!
October baseball is among the best things we have in sports. It's a god damn grind to get there but man does it feel good to be there. 6 months of games, 162 games in like 180 days and then it could be over in 3 days. It's a thrill man, it really is. The Orioles kick off another playoff run after their 91-71 rollercoaster of a season. Your top Wild Card team will welcome in the team that has all of Baltimore in a metal gulag after sweeping the O's in the 2014 ALCS, the 86-76 Kansas City Royals. It's simple, best of 3. All the games in Baltimore, winner gets a trip to New York to see the Yankees. I'm not going to do some 5,000 word preview of this series, just a little about these two and we'll get to some baseball.
I can't look at that Royals logo without getting that awful taste from 2014 out of my mouth. Being at Camden Yards and watching that Royals team dink and dunk the Orioles to death was awful, legit painful. That was the year. So naturally 10 years later we get a chance to exercise the demons, albeit in the Wild Card round. They're just the first bump in the road now, it's time to drive right over them. First to 2 wins takes it and there's no reason why the O's can't advance on. We've been waiting for this for so long, this team should be the one who can win this franchise their first playoff game since 2014 and move on to New York.
This team is good. 91-71 on the season and were in a dogfight for the division until the end. Injuries and their lackluster play in the 2nd half really shook them to their core and gave us all quite a scare but they were able to get the season back on track as they got healthier and got their guys back. Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle and Ramon Urias have all been great since returning from the IL 2 weeks ago, all we needed was the band back together. Everything has slowly come back into form since they have rejoined the lineup and went 5-1 down the stretch to finish the 2nd half at .500. A small miracle after how they had played a few weeks earlier. The lineup couldn't hit, they couldn't field and they could't pitch. It's slowly come back to form and it couldn't come at a better time. The Os ended up going 41-41 in their last 82 games, the same record as the 2023 Rangers. Hmm. I do think they matchup very well with KC, I think they have arms the O's can really get after. The O's also won both series vs KC this season, 2 out of 3 both times.
Gunnar hits, that is what he does. He's going to have himself a series facing Cole Ragans who is really good, and Seth Lugo with Michael Wacha on deck. He'll have a major impact at the top of the lineup. No clue how the lineup breaks down from there, probably Rutschman as DH with McCann catching, Santander, Mountcastle, Westburg, Cowser, Slater against lefties, Mullins vs righties, with Urias and Jackson Holliday rounding out the lineup. Ryan O'Hearn will get his pinch hitting spots off the bench and probably start vs Lugo. Their lineup as gelled so well with Westburg returning, he completes this team so much. I think he has a big series too, just a hunch. I also think we see an O's walk-off win this round, no clue why. 5 runs. That is how the O's win, they are so good when they get to 5 runs or over, they've done that in 7 of their last 10 after only going 5 or more in 1 of their last 12, so it's coming together. They've got power hitters, they've got pure hitters, they've got speed and they are HEALTHY. That is the biggest thing for me, healthy and hitting.
If there is one part of the Orioles I worry about, it's the bullpen. They got lefty Danny Coulombe back in the pen and he's been lights out. Everyone else kind of scares me and that is a recipe for disaster in October. Seranthony Dominguez has been the closer for a few weeks now but looked a bit shaky down the stretch. He gave up runs in 4 of his last 10 appearances but still went 4/5 in saves. It's salvageable. The rest of the guys haven't been their best but are trending in the right direction. Yennier Cano, Gregory Soto, Cionel Perez will all handle high leverage situations and that could be a tough few outs. The O's had a 5.31 ERA in September, 29th out of 30 teams this month. BLEH. Royals fared a bit better at 2.77 ERA. This could and will come down to the final 9-12 outs. The Orioles have the guys to shut it down, they just need to sack up and get it done. Royals do have the advantage in the pen, that's scary.
Rotation is a dog fight. Corbin Burnes/Zach Eflin/Dean Kremer vs Cole Ragans/Seth Lugo/Michael Wacha. My god man, this is a legit matchup. Burnes was the odds on favorite to win the Cy Young early on and had a really good year even with a hiccup in August. 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA and my god has he been locked in during September (4 ER in last 5 starts). This guy is itching to go, he's ready for playoff baseball. Zach Eflin has been incredible since coming over, he's got World Series experience and will give you 6-7 strong innings. Dean Kremer, I love ya my guy but I don't want to see you until New York. I want Burnes and Eflin to do their job against a Royals lineup that really has the 2 big guys with Bobby Witt Jr and Salvy, and then we ship up to New York. Kremer has cemented himself in this rotation and really has stepped up big down the stretch. For him, I hope it's New York where he gets his playoff revenge after last year. Get to their starters early and you have to try and break the pen. Short series, getting after a guy in Game 1 can ruin a season. Make that happen, we've seen Gunnar jump on guys early to set the tone….why it here.
This really should be a fun matchup. Royals are really, really good with a stud shortstop who put up an incredible fight to try and win an MVP. Can't let him get on base and run wild, you can't. Don't let Witt Jr or Salvy beat you. Make a surrounding piece make a play, put the pressure on them. The O's have more DUDES in their lineup, they've got dudes. Make them feel the wrath of the dudes, show them that these young prospects have morphed into legit threats. We've seen it with Gunnar, the rest follow.
Bottom line is the Orioles have been playing better baseball than the Royals down the stretch, it's a what have you done for me lately league and the O's just look better. Orioles jumped into the playoffs while the Royals kind of backed their way in. O's were 7-3 to finish and 13-12 in September while KC was 4-6 in their last 10 and 11-14 in the final month. We'll get some damn good pitching matchups but I think the O's have more firepower and can continue their offensive resurgence. The bats have been alive lately and I don't see that stopping. I think the Orioles are the hotter and better team, I think they win this in 2. Westy with 2 big games, that's my call. The lineup is healthy and I will take these 2 starters up against almost anyone in a shorter series.
See you at Pickles, see you at the Yard. Get me to 4:08 with SVP throwing out a first pitch and Natty Boh flowing through my veins. Crank the song to 13.