The Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles get set for game two of their wildcard series on Wednesday afternoon. The Orioles are on the brink of elimination after dropping the opener 1-0 on Tuesday. The Orioles have now lost nine straight postseason games heading into Wednesday. The pitching matchup on Wednesday will feature Royals' all-star righty Seth Lugo (16-9, 3.00) taking on Orioles righty Zach Eflin (10-9, 3.59). The first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 pm EST.
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Kansas City sends Lugo to hill to close out series
The Kansas City Royals lost over 100 games in 2023 but are now just one game away from advancing to the ALDS after a 1-0 win over the Orioles in game one of their best-of-three wildcard series on Tuesday afternoon. Starter Cole Ragans went six scoreless innings before leaving with a sore calf, and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. drove in the game's lone run in the victory. Witt's sixth-inning single drove home Maikel Garcia after the Royals' third baseman walked, stole second, and moved to third on a groundout. Ragans struck out eight and allowed just four hits and threw less than 90 pitches before exiting with soreness in his calf. The Royals bullpen went three scoreless innings, capped off by Lucas Erceg's 1.1 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the save.
The Royals will now send their top free-agent pickup this past offseason, righty Seth Lugo, to the hill to try to close out the Orioles. Lugo has been more than a pleasant surprise since arriving from San Diego this winter. He made the AL All-Star team, won 16 games to lead the team and had 22 quality starts out of 33 games overall. Lugo is 9-3 with a 2.62 ERA on the road this season. He has walked 23 and struck out 98 batters in 99.2 innings of work on the road while allowing 80 hits. Lugo is 0-1 against the Orioles in just one start. He allowed nine hits in 5.1 innings of work including two home runs.
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Orioles need Eflin to deliver
The Baltimore Orioles postseason woes continued on Tuesday afternoon in a 1-0 loss to the Royals. The Orioles have now lost nine straight postseason games overall and will need a win on Wednesday to avoid another elimination. Starter Corbin Burnes did his part on Tuesday. Burnes went eight innings and allowed just five hits and one run while striking out three and threw just 83 pitches. Unfortunately for the former NL Cy Young winner, the Orioles' bats failed to deliver. The Orioles had just five hits in the game and left seven runners on base in the loss. Stars Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Santander, and Adley Rutschman combined to go 0-for-11 with four strikeouts.
The Orioles will now turn to their key trade deadline acquisition, Zach Eflin, to keep their season alive on Wednesday. Eflin is 10-9 on the season in 28 starts including a 5-2 record in 11 starts with the Orioles since coming over from the Rays. He has compiled 13 quality starts and will have the entire Orioles' bullpen behind him on Wednesday after Burnes gave them eight innings on Tuesday. He has gone 5-3 in home games this season with a 2.66 ERA in 11 starts. Eflin has won his only start against the Royals this season but was hit hard. He went five innings and allowed seven hits and six runs while striking out just three batters.
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Best Bets for Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
The numbers are hard to argue here. The Royals were built to win in this short series because they have as good a 1-2 starting pitching punch as any team in the playoffs. Ragans did his part on Tuesday afternoon with six shutout innings. He now turns it over to Lugo, who has been a superb road pitcher this season. His road ERA is 2.62, and he's gone 9-3 in 16 turns. He faces an Orioles team that has been laboring at the plate for much of the second half of the season. The Orioles' playoff woes have to be in their collective heads at this point. Heading into Wednesday, the team has dropped nine straight playoff games, including last year's sweep at the hands of the Rangers. The Orioles' big bats have struggled, particularly Rutschman and Henderson. Rutschman is hitting just .201 since the All-Star break with only three home runs. Henderson's power production has dropped as well, with just nine home runs after the All-Star game. The Orioles' best chance to win would be to jump out on top but Lugo has a 1.91 ERA in the first inning this season. He has struggled later in games but, by then, the Orioles could be struggling to stay alive. The Royals will close this one out on Wednesday.
Take the Royals with the money line.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
I liked the under in game one due to the Orioles' recent struggles at the plate, as well as the Royals. The numbers played out in game one, with both pitchers getting a quality start and the two teams combining for ten hits in total and one run. The Oriole's power outage has become a huge issue for a team that relied heavily on the long ball this season. The Royals have become a more opportunistic scoring team, willing to steal a base and advance a runner to get a run across. I expect more of the same in game two with both teams having fresh bullpens and the two pitchers combining for 35 quality starts this season.
Take the under.
