Fastball

Bobby Witt Jr. Joins Rare Playoff History as Kansas City Royals Take Game One

The Royals are out to a fast start against the Baltimore Orioles, thanks to great pitching and an RBI single from Bobby Witt Jr.

Brady Farkas

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) hits a RBI single at bat in the sixth inning in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Oct 1.
Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) hits a RBI single at bat in the sixth inning in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Oct 1. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
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The Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of the American League wild card series on Tuesday afternoon to move one step closer toward advancing to the ALDS.

The Royals got a great pitching performance from left-hander Cole Ragans and multiple relievers in their first playoff game since 2015.

Offensively, they also got a crucial RBI single from superstar and MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr., who went 1-for-4.

He also made some special history, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

youngest players with RBI in 1-0 postseason game, since RBI official (1920):

1966 WS G3 Paul Blair: 22y, 249d
2016 NLDS G1 Javier Báez: 23y, 311d
1987 NLCS G6 José Oquendo: 24y, 101d
2024 ALWCS G1 Bobby Witt Jr.: 24y, 109d

One of the best players in the league at just the age of 24, Witt Jr. is destined to finish in the top three of MVP voting in the American League. He hit .332 this season with a robust .389 on-base percentage while also popping 32 homers and bring home 109.

In addition, he stole 31 bases and paired with Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino to make one of the best middle-of-the-order trios in the league.

A three-year veteran, he's a lifetime .288 hitter with 82 homers, 285 RBI and 110 steals.

Game two of the series will be played on Wednesday afternoon with first pitch coming at 4:38 p.m. ET. Seth Lugo will get the ball for Kansas City while Baltimore will send right-hander Zach Eflin to the mound.

Lugo was 16-9 this season while Eflin was 10-9.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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