2024 American League Wild Card Series 2

2024 American League Wild Card Series

Kansas City Royals 86 - 76 in the AL	2 - 0 Series Summary	Baltimore Orioles 91 - 71 in the AL

Overview[edit]

The Teams[edit]

Managers: Orioles: Brandon Hyde | Royals: Matt Quatraro

Orioles

Royals

Umpires[edit]

Ryan Additon, Ben May, Nic Lentz, Bill Miller (crew chief), David Rackley and Malachi Moore

Series results[edit]

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Kansas City Royals 1 Baltimore Orioles 0	October 1	Cole Ragans (1-0) Corbin Burnes (0-1)	4:08 pm
2	Kansas City Royals 2 Baltimore Orioles 1	October 2	Seth Lugo (0-0) Zach Eflin (0-0)	4:38 pm

Results[edit]

Game 1 @ Camden Yards[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Royals	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	5	0
Orioles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
WP: Cole Ragans (1-0); LP: Corbin Burnes (0-1); SV: Lucas Erceg (1)
Home Runs: none

Attendance: 41,506

Everyone was expecting a pitchers' duel in Game 1, what with two of the best starting pitchers in the American League facing one another, and the two offenses having both struggled down the stretch - and that is exactly what happened. With Cole Ragans for the Royals and Corbin Burnes for the Orioles both dealing, baserunners were at a premium during the entire game, and the only run that was scored in nine innings proved to be decisive.

The Orioles had the first opportunity when Cedric Mullins led off the bottom of the 3rd with a double, but Ragans retired the next three batters. In the 5th, Ryan Mountcastle turned an unassisted double play for the Birds when he snagged a line drive by MJ Melendez and doubled off Yuli Gurriel, who had led off the inning with a single. In the bottom of that inning, Julio Urias hit a double with one out and advanced to third on a single by Mullins. However, Ragans once again escaped without giving up a run as he struck out both James McCann and Gunnar Henderson. In the 6th, Maikel Garcia drew a walk with one out, then stole second and advanced to third on a ground out. Bobby Witt Jr. followed with a single to left and Garcia scored what turned out to be the game's lone run.

Ragans was removed from the game after six innings, reportedly because of cramping in his legs; his pitch count was only at 80, so he could otherwise have gone longer. The Royals' bullpen had not been a strength this season, but Sam Long, the first reliever that Matt Quatraro called upon, did his job, getting the O's in order in the 7th. In the 8th, Kris Bubic issued a walk to Henderson and a soft single by Jordan Westburg with two outs. Quatraro immediately called on his closer, Lucas Erceg, to come into the game and on his first pitch, he got Anthony Santander to ground out to Witt at shortstop. Meanwhile, Burnes had completed eight innings of outstanding ball, but he gave up a lead-off single to Garcia in the 9th. Keegan Akin and Seranthony Dominguez finished the inning, allowing a walk to Vinnie Pasquantino before Dominguez struck out Salvador Perez to end the inning. The Orioles could never get the run they needed to extend the game. Pinch-hitter Ryan O'Hearn drew a lead-off walk against Erceg in the bottom of the 9th, but the next three batters made outs, including pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad who struck out swinging to end the game.

Game 2 @ Camden Yards[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Royals	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	9	1
Orioles	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	6	0
WP: Angel Zerpa (1-0); LP: Cionel Pérez (0-1); SV: Lucas Erceg (2)
Home Runs: BAL - Cedric Mullins (1)

Attendance: 38,698

Game 2 was again a low-scoring affair, with a final score of 2-1, again in favor of the Royals. Zach Eflin was starting for the Orioles against Seth Lugo, and while the final score makes it seem as if the two went deep in another epic head-to-head battle, both pitchers were gone before the 5th inning, and the game was decided by the bullpens.

The Royals got on the board in the 1st inning thanks to a lead-off double by Michael Massey. Bobby Witt Jr. then came to bat with only one thing on his mind - to advance Massey to third, and he did just that on a pitch that was well inside, pushing it towards 2B Jordan Westburg with an inside-out swing that would have made Derek Jeter proud. Vinnie Pasquantino followed with a single to right, and just like that, the run total from Game 1 had been equaled. And for a while it looked like once again, the two teams would find it impossible to push another run across. The Royals gave it a good try, putting at least one runner on base every inning, but turning baserunners into runs turned out to be a hard slog. However, all those baserunners led to an early exit by Eflin, who had to continually pitch out of trouble in his four innings of work. He gave way to Daniel Coulombe to start the top of the 5th, and he needed help from Jacob Webb to escape without a run, as the Royals left the bases loaded.

In the bottom of the 5th, seemingly out of nowhere, Cedric Mullins hit a lead-off homer off Lugo. It was the Orioles' first run of the series - but unfortunately for them, it would also be their only one. For a spell, though, it looked like the Birds were about to break through. Ramon Urias followed Mullins with a single, after which Gunnar Henderson drew a walk and Westburg reached on an error by Lugo, who could not pick up cleanly his squibbler down the third base line. The bases were now loaded with nobody out, but Baltimore was unable to take advantage. Next up was Anthony Santander, but he popped up to first base for the first out. That was it for Lugo, who gave way to Angel Zerpa, who struck out Colton Cowser and got Adley Rutschman to ground out to Witt at shortstop. That sequence was clearly a major turning point in the game. That became even clearer when in the 6th, the Royals took the lead again, and without needing any big hits. Webb struck out Hunter Renfroe to start the inning, then gave way to Cionel Perez. He allowed a single to Kyle Isbel, then after a second out, another single to Massey. Brandon Hyde changed pitchers again, bringing in Yennier Cano to face Witt. He did his job, getting Witt to hit the ball to Westburg, but the fastest baserunner in the majors beat Westburg's throw to first, allowing Isbel to score. Maybe Westburg should have tried to get the force out at second instead, but he did not, and with runs at a premium, his decision turned out to be huge.

The Orioles were never able to tie the score again. It seemed like every reliever that came in for the Royals was throwing strikes and keeping Baltimore's hitters off balance. John Schreiber, Sam Long, Kris Bubic and Lucas Erceg took the mound in succession and gave up just one hit in 3 2/3 innings between them. In fact, it was the Royals who had the better scoring chances the rest of the game, starting with loading the bases after Witt's infield single, before Cano struck out Salvador Perez to end the inning. But in the end, the Orioles' inability to generate any offence was the story, as the Royals' three runs in two games were enough for a sweep.