Following the first series win of the 2024 campaign, the Orioles welcome in the Kansas City Royals for a three-game series.
The Royals, led by young superstar Bobby Witt Jr., roll in off the back of an 11-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins that salvaged a 1-2 opening series defeat.
The Orioles head into the series after a 2-1 series victory over the Los Angeles Angels that saw 25 runs scored in those three games.
The Birds will close out their rotation with Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin getting their first starts in games one and two. New O’s ace Corbin Burnes will get the bump in game three.
This will be a big season for Kremer, who is certainly looking for a good first outing after his last in game three of the ALDS in Texas. The Orioles No. 4 starter, who was once hailed as a key piece of a blockbuster trade, looks to improve upon what was an impressive 13 wins and a 4.12 ERA over 172.2 innings pitched last year.
On the mound for the Royals will be newly acquired Michael Wacha, Alec Marsh and their ace Cole Ragans. We also get to visit with old friends Adam Frazier and Jordan Lyles.
A big thing to take away from the opening series, even only being three games, is that this O’s offense can overpower a lot of opponents. However, we want to see that success come a little more consistently and without a disappearance like we saw in game three against the Angels.
BATTERY ❌️-FACTOR
That leads us into our BATTERY ❌️-FACTOR for this series, the bottom of the O’s lineup.
We’ve seen Gunnar Henderson at the top of the lineup torch the ball already, and Anthony Santander already found his stroke. But when the offense was clicking best in the first series, it was when the bottom of the lineup was hitting along with the big guys up top.
The Birds will see two right-handers in this series, so we will need to see production from the bottom from players like Austin Hays and Ramón Urías. Cedric Mullins could have a big series after looking much better than he did in spring training.
Bats like Henderson and Rutschman at the top will be RBI machines with the way they hit, but the bottom has to be able to turn it over to those guys with runners on base and do it at a consistent level.
GAME 1 STARTING LINEUPS
Kansas City Royals (1-2): Managed by Matt Quatraro
1. Maikel Garcia 3B
2. Bobby Witt Jr. SS
3. Vinnie Pasquantino 1B
4. Salvador Perez C
5. MJ Melendez LF
6. Hunter Renfroe RF
7. Adam Frazier 2B
8. Nelson Velásquez DH
9. Kyle Isbel CF
SP. Michael Wacha RHP
Baltimore Orioles (2-1): Managed by Brandon Hyde
1. Gunnar Henderson SS
2. Adley Rutschman C
3. Anthony Santander RF
4. Ryan Mountcastle 1B
5. Ryan O’Hearn DH
6. Austin Hays LF
7. Cedric Mullins CF
8. Jordan Westburg 2B
9. Ramón Urías 3B
SP. Dean Kremer RHP
The series begins Monday evening, with games one and two scheduled for 6:35 p.m. EST and game three set for 1:05 p.m. EST. You can catch each game on MASN2 or on your local Orioles Radio Network station.
How do you see this series playing out? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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