Os vs KC in WC round

[DrinkinWithFermi]

I'm just glad they won't have Gordon/Dyson/Cain to run out there on the grass in the late innings this time around.

Watching those guys steal hit after hit from us was no fun in 2014 

[Aristotelian]

I predict lots of Gunnar vs Witt talk. Too bad we can't see this matchup in the ALCS. 

We took 4 of 6 from them twice including two walkoffs in the home series. Both series back in April.

Salvvy absolutely torched us in some big spots from what I recall. He has a 1.247 OPS against us this year with 2 HR. 

Ragans has reverse splits. Will be interesting to see how Hyde approaches the lineup for Game 1. Could Kjerstad maybe get in the lineup?

[Sports Guy]

The idea that they didn’t move that series out of Atlanta was such a joke.

[drjohnnyfever1]

9 minutes ago, DrinkinWithFermi said:

I'm just glad they won't have Gordon/Dyson/Cain to run out there on the grass in the late innings this time around.

Watching those guys steal hit after hit from us was no fun in 2014 

It's sort of shocking that we line up again with the Royals, but the same could be said of the Tigers too.  In either case, this WC was/is gearing up to be redemption or more punishment for us.  The fact that it's KC with how the Ravens under-perform against them, I'm not going to lie, I'm preparing for punishment, but hoping for redemption after 2014. 

[bpilktree67]

7 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

The idea that they didn’t move that series out of Atlanta was such a joke.

They didn’t need to move it they could have played on Monday when both teams were off.  They should have played double header either Monday or Tuesday and 1 game the other day.  

[Sports Guy]

11 minutes ago, bpilktree67 said:

They didn’t need to move it they could have played on Monday when both teams were off.  They should have played double header either Monday or Tuesday and 1 game the other day.  

That’s fine too. Either way, they had a chance to make this less complicated and chose not to. Shocking that MLB would mess things up.

[capyy]

I like missing skubal

[Malike]

10 minutes ago, capyy said:

I like missing skubal

KC actually has more than 1 guy who can shut you down.

[rudyrooster]

55 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

 

Ragans has reverse splits. Will be interesting to see how Hyde approaches the lineup for Game 1. Could Kjerstad maybe get in the lineup?

I have no hard evidence to back it up, but it seems I've observed the O's this season have adhered to a "traditional" righties vs. lefties and lefties vs. righties mentality.  Damn the reverse splits!

[e16bball]

Some quick recaps of the matchups against KC, as they happened so long ago that they’re genuinely tough to remember.

Game 1 (@BAL): Orioles win 6-4. 

Dean Kremer vs. Michael (Wacha) Wacha. Kremer escapes a brutal 1st inning with two errors (Urias; Henderson). After that, the pitchers mostly cruise until T3, when Kremer gives up a bomb to Witt, followed by a walk and a Perez bomb for a 3-0 KC lead. The O’s bats storm back, matching those 3 runs in B4, with Rutschman double and a Mountcastle HR providing the highlights. Not much action until T8, when Cano gets into and works out of a huge jam (2nd and 3rd, none out) to preserve the tie. In B8, three singles culminate in a Mountcastle RBI to take the lead. Kimbrel promptly blows said lead in T9, giving up a single to Isbel and two mostly uncontested SBs to PR Blanco, who trots home on a sac fly. In B9, Mullins singles with one out against RP Nick Anderson and Westburg sends the fans home happy with an opposite field walk-off blast. 

Game 2 (@BAL): Royals win 4-1

Cole Irvin vs. Alec Marsh. Much less intrigue in this one. Irvin didn’t have it, giving up four, that could have been more. Garcia did most of the damage, with a double and triple that brought home 3 runs. Marsh mostly stymied the O’s bats, with Cowser’s double in B3 providing the only run. Smith closed it out for KC.

Game 3 (@ BAL): Orioles win 4-3

Corbin Burnes vs. Cole Ragans. This one looked like it was headed the way of the visitors, as Ragans dominated through 6.1 innings of one-hit ball. The Royals had a load of traffic against Burnes, with 9 hits and a couple walks. The O’s did well to minimize the damage. Perez provided two RBI singles against Burnes, but his ponderous baserunning also kept him from scoring both times. KC added a 3rd run against Baumann in T7, on a homer by Garcia. Once Ragans finally exited, the O’s came alive, with RP James McArthur yielding two runs in B8. Cowser singled and was followed by a double from McCann. They each came home, on a Firestone by Henderson and a clutch 2-out single by Rutschman, to bring the score to 3-2. Smith again came on to close it out for KC, and he was greeted rudely. The bases were loaded for Cowser, who struck out. He was followed by McCann, however, who delivered the walk-off two-run single. Great rejoicing.

Game 4 (@ KC): Royals win 9-4

Dean Kremer vs. Alec Marsh. Both guys largely matched what they’d done a couple weeks earlier. Kremer pitched into the 6th, with the only blemish until that point being a B4 solo shot by Pasquantino. Marsh pitched out of a couple jams, first picking off Henderson at 3B to snuff out a T1 2nd/3rd threat, then getting a popup from Mullins and a groundout from Cowser to escape a T4 bases loaded conundrum. B6 was a nightmare for the O’s, with Kremer getting two outs but also issuing two BBs. Akin was called on, and promptly set the whole thing ablaze, giving up RBI hits to Melendez, Massey, and Renfroe to make it 6-0. In T7, Rutschman answered with a grand slam off of possible double agent Smith to draw closer. But in B7, Melendez hit a 3-run bomb off of Tate to provide the final margin.

Game 5 (@ KC): Orioles win 9-7

Corbin Burnes vs. Cole Ragans. As expected, a pitcher’s duel. Ragans came out hot, striking out the side in T1. His luck turned, though, in T2. The Orioles BABIP’d him to death, recording 8 hits in the frame. A two-run single by Westburg made it 7-0 and sent Ragans to the showers. Burnes was solid, though unspectacular, until yielding a B6 Weaver to Perez that ended his night. After the O’s manufactured a run in T7, an uncharacteristically wild outing from Coulombe was followed by a characteristically wild outing from Yohan Ramirez, with yet another big hit from Perez providing 2 RBIs to close to 8-7. Kauffman was in a frenzy. In T8, though, Mountcastle and Santander slammed back-to-back doubles off RP John Schreiber to make it 9-7. Akin and Baumann survived the bottom of the order in B8, and Kimbrel closed it out in orderly fashion in T9.

Game 6 (@ KC): Orioles win 5-0 

Cole Irvin vs. Seth Lugo. A mismatch on paper, and indeed it proved to be. Irvin survived B1 turmoil and then absolutely locked things down. Lugo was ambushed with back-to-back blasts from Westburg and Cowser to start T3, and then pitched his way into trouble in T6. A triple (?) by Santander was followed by a Mountcastle RBI double. Eventually RP Angel Zerpa walked in another run, but he did dodge further damage by striking out both Holliday and Henderson with the bases still loaded. Urias provided the final blow with a T9 single that drove home Henderson, and the Orioles bullpen locked down the shutout.

[ShoelesJoe]

 

[Safelykept]

10 minutes ago, Malike said:

KC actually has more than 1 guy who can shut you down.

Agree with that, but last I checked so do we. Also Detroit has been doing their late season run with guys named other than Skubal. That said lets go.

[DirtyBird]

34 minutes ago, Malike said:

KC actually has more than 1 guy who can shut you down.

I’ll take the matchup in which we have the better chance of winning game 1 in best of 3.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

1 hour ago, drjohnnyfever1 said:

It's sort of shocking that we line up again with the Royals, but the same could be said of the Tigers too.  In either case, this WC was/is gearing up to be redemption or more punishment for us.  The fact that it's KC with how the Ravens under-perform against them, I'm not going to lie, I'm preparing for punishment, but hoping for redemption after 2014. 

They are no Chiefs. 

We are clearly the better team, so if we lose, it'll likely be because we beat ourselves.

[Aristotelian]

35 minutes ago, rudyrooster said:

I have no hard evidence to back it up, but it seems I've observed the O's this season have adhered to a "traditional" righties vs. lefties and lefties vs. righties mentality.  Damn the reverse splits!

That is my recollection as well. In fact, vs Ragans they stacked all RHB's with Gunnar, Adley, and Santander. I think O'Hearn's and Mullins' splits are so bad vs LHP it is probably correct to bench them, but we might want Cowser and Kjerstad in the game. Could we see something like this?

Gunnar SS

Westburg 2B

Santander RF

Mountcastle 1B

Cowser CF

Adley DH

Kjerstad LF

Urias 3B

McCann C