We are down to the final two teams for the American League Championship Series. The blazing fast Kansas City Royals up against the power hitting Baltimore Orioles. Kansas City is the ‘Cinderella Story’ this season, this is their first postseason appearance since they won their last title in 1985, that’s 29 years baseball fans! During the 2014 season the Royals didn’t hit many homers so they relied on ‘small ball’ to produce runs. Meaning they used their speed, bunting runners over, and using their elite bullpen to shut down games. While the Orioles produced their runs via the long ball. So for this series expect the best of both worlds.
ALCS Preview
Both teams have swung with the best of them during their postseason runs. The Royals have hit 5 doubles, 1 triple, demolished 4 homers, while scoring a grand total of 23 runs against the Angels. While the Orioles have hit 4 doubles, 0 triples, 4 homers, and drove in 20 total runs against the Tigers. The difference between the teams is that Kansas City work the count against the opposing pitcher, drawing 15 walks compared to Baltimore’s 7. Once the Royals reach base you can bet that they will be trying to steal to move their runners into scoring position, and that will be a difficult task for Nick Hundley and Caleb Joseph to prevent.
Comparing both pitching staff I would have to give the nod to the Royals. They are anchored by ‘Big Game’ James Shield then followed by rookie flame thrower Yordano Ventura then Jason Vargas to follow them both. Vargas relies on his defense to collect his outs and he will be a great pitcher to throw off the Orioles and their approach. The Orioles rotation isn’t bad by any means, their ace Chris Tillman can pitch with the best while Wei-Yin Chen is one of the best #2 pitchers in the league. He is able to go out their and pitch the team into a win with ease.
Baseball fans should be excited for this series since both managers play a different brand of baseball. Ned Yost and Buck Showalter are both up for Manager of the Year and you will understand why after watching this tasty series.