Royals Sweep Orioles In AL Wild Card Series
BALTIMORE -- Amid the celebration of an improbable turnaround from 106 losses to a wild-card round victory, Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. slipped on a T-shirt that read: "October Ready."
While Baltimore received excellent pitching all series, Kansas City's was even better -- and the Royals had Witt, who joined Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx as the only players 24 or younger with a winning RBI in each of their teams' first two postseason games.
Royals starter Seth Lugo carved through Baltimore's lineup. After a Cedric Mullins home run in the fifth inning, Baltimore loaded the bases with no outs against Lugo. He induced an Anthony Santander pop-up, and reliever Angel Zerpa struck out Colton Cowser -- he swung at a pitch that hit him and broke his left hand -- and induced a groundout from Adley Rutschman, emblematic of a night in which the Orioles went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
In addition to Zerpa's scoreless inning, right-hander John Schreiber, left-handers Sammy Long and Kris Bubic, and closer Lucas Erceg continued the Royals' magnificent bullpen run, with 7⅔ scoreless innings in the wild-card series.
Kansas City will face the New York Yankees in the first game of the ALDS on Saturday.
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Gallery Credit: Scott Prather