Royals Have History On Their Side, Searching For Wild-Card Sweep Of Orioles
It's a remark Kansas City Royals fans have made all throughout the baseball season: Feels Like 2015.
Well, Tuesday certainly felt like 2015 for these Royals, who won their first game in the Major League Baseball playoffs since that magical team nine years ago took home the second World Series championship in franchise history.
The Royals got it done in typical Royals fashion. The pitching set the tone, as Cole Ragans kept the vaunted Baltimore Orioles lineup off the scoreboard for six dazzling innings. Bobby Witt Jr. provided the only offense, with a clutch RBI single in the top of the sixth.
Then, the Royals bullpen did just enough to hold serve. The tying run reached scoring position in the eighth and the leadoff runner was aboard in the ninth, but the Orioles came up empty both times, locking down a 1-0 margin on the scoreboard and in the series for these Royals.
The beauty of the Wild Card series is that winning Game 1 changes everything. Since MLB expanded the playoffs in 2022, there have been eight full Wild Card round series. The winners of Game 1 of those series have advanced all eight times.
If that wasn't enough, the Royals' advantage extends even further back in baseball history. Per Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic, 14 of the 16 teams who have won Game 1 in all previous three-game playoff series have gone on to win the matchup.
Even more encouraging is the fact that Kansas City will have its second "ace" on the mound, while the Orioles really have just one stud in Corbin Burnes. Baltimore Game 2 starter Zach Eflin may be no pushover, but he's certainly not Seth Lugo, who tossed 206 2/3 innings with a 3.00 ERA this year.
What the Royals proved at Camden Yards on Tuesday cannot be understated. They went into a hostile environment, stared down a Cy Young winner and a returning playoff team in the other dugout, and eked out a gutsy win.
Wednesday, they'll just have to do it all over again. If they get the job done, they'll secure themselves a date with the American League's top dogs, the New York Yankees.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org