In the not so distant past, the idea that the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles would be meeting for the right to advance to the World Series was a ludicrous notion but times have changed and the cycle of perpetual losing has been shed by both teams.
Even going into this year’s playoffs that idea seemed unlikely by many despite the fact that Kansas City boasted some of the best relief pitching in the game and the Orioles played the best of almost anyone in the American League after the All-Star break.
Now they will play for the right to reach the World Series and that gets underway Friday when James Shields opposes Chris Tillman.
Shields did not pitch well in the wild-card game but that was an afterthought thanks to Kansas City’s epic comeback win over the Oakland Athletics. In the division series sweep over the Los Angeles Angels, Shields pitched six innings in the series clincher on Sunday.
“Obviously we understand the magnitude of what’s going on in Kansas City,” Shields told reporters at his workout day press conference in Baltimore on Thursday. “If you go to our game you can really understand why, the atmosphere, it’s unbelievable. We definitely feed off the atmosphere. We feed off the crowd. But we’re going to go out there and play our game and trust our ability to win ballgames.
Tillman pitched his first career complete game shutout against the Royals when he threw a 117-pitch five-hitter on May 16 in Kansas City. That was a time when both teams were still trying to figure it out but nearly five months later, both teams have, especially Tillman who wasn’t even used in the postseason two years ago.
“They hit and run, they steal,” Tillman told reporters at his workout day press conference. “They’re trying to press the envelope all the time. And you know what, as a group we know that. We know what’s going to come at us. And it’s going to play out the way it does. You get ready for it the best you can and whatever happens, happens.”
That is evidenced by both teams figuring out what worked best for them in their differing sweeps in the division series.
The Royals advanced to their first ALCS since 1985 by posting a 1.74 ERA, stealing five bases, and outscoring the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 15-6 in a three-game sweep. The Orioles advanced to their first ALCS by hitting four home runs, scoring 21 runs, and hitting .263 in a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
The Royals are here after having one winning season in the last two decades before getting 86 wins in 2013. The Orioles have had three straight winning seasons after going under .500 in every season following their six-game playoff loss to the Cleveland Indians in 1997.
The contrasts can be seen via the disparity in lineups. While the Orioles led the Majors in home runs, the Royals bore some similarities of the Cardinals in the 1980s with a 95 home run showing in the regular season and a roster that besides Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson has players such as Alex Gordon and Nori Aoki ready to run at any given moment.
Stopping the team will rely on figuring out how to get Nelson Cruz out. Following his 40 home runs in the regular season, Cruz added two more against Detroit and had a 1.500 OPS.
For the Royals, their lineup is a combination of the 2011 prospect migration that saw Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez reach the Majors. Hosmer was a hit in his first postseason series with a .400 average, two RBI, and an open wallet when he bought drinks for Royals fans totaling $15,000 and partied with them. Moustakas was a success following a tough regular season as he hit .273 with two home runs.
They are part of a steady lineup that made them one of five teams since 1995 to have nine players get at least 500 plate appearances. The last team was the 2007 World Champion Boston Red Sox.
By contrast the narrative with the Orioles has been about who is not there and trying to figure out how a team without Chris Davis, Matt Wieters and Manny Machado is still playing.
The bullpens also figure to play a role. The combined record of the teams when leading after six was 137-11. Kansas City’s trio of flamethrowers Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland have received the notoriety but Baltimore’s trio of Andrew Miller (1.35 ERA with the Orioles), sidearm thrower Darren O’Day and sinkerballer Zach Britton have been right up there as well.
Of course a bullpen is as good as it is used. Kansas City manager Ned Yost sticks to the rigidity of a formula (Herrera for the seventh, Davis eighth, Holland ninth) which is fine when it works. Baltimore manager Buck Showalter often employs his trio of arms in the higher leverage instances no matter when those happen as evidenced by using Miller in the sixth in Game One against Detroit with a one-run lead.
The Royals have the speed, the Orioles have the power and both teams have the arms. By now the information exists about both team’s strengths and whoever neutralizes those components better will keep playing in the World Series.
