UFC 307 (home)
BALTIMORE — Bobby Witt Jr. beat out an infield single to drive in the go-ahead run and send the Kansas City Royals into an AL Division Series with a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday for a two-game sweep of their Wild Card Series.
With two outs and runners at the corners in sixth inning, Witt hit a grounder to the edge of the dirt behind second base, where Jordan Westburg made a diving stop and throw to first. Witt was already there after zooming 90 feet in 4.14 seconds, allowing Kyle Isbel to score from third.
“I just had to try to run,” Witt said.
It was the second consecutive game in which the AL batting champion provided the decisive hit. Witt’s RBI single in Tuesday’s series opener plated the only run in a 1-0 victory.
“You never know when this opportunity ever is going to happen again, so got to make the most of it while you have it,” Witt said. “That’s the fun part of this game. This is why we do it, these situations here.”
Kansas City, which endured two seven-game losing streaks over the final month of the season, advanced to face the AL East champion New York Yankees. Game 1 is Saturday in the Bronx.
Cedric Mullins homered for the Orioles, who fell to 0-5 during two quick playoff exits the past two years. Baltimore has dropped its last 10 post-season games.
The new-look Royals lost 106 games last season but used a 30-win improvement to get back to October for the first time since winning the 2015 World Series.
Second baseman Michael Massey, who led off the game with a double and scored on a single by Vinnie Pasquantino, said the front office bringing in experienced veterans with playoff experience like Tommy Pham, Yuli Gurriel, Michael Wacha and Will Smith made this possible.
“They’ve been there before, they’ve done it, so I think it’s helped a lot of guys,” Massey said. “It’s helped us, for sure me, to be around those guys and just watch them, more than anything, and see how they go about their business, has been — I think that’s helped us stay even keel.”
The Royals left 12 runners on base and got through another close game with a razor-thin margin for error thanks to some masterful managing by Matt Quatraro, himself a post-season rookie like Witt, Game 1 winner Cole Ragans and so many others.
Quatraro let starter Seth Lugo get an out after loading the bases with nobody out in the fifth before spinning up bullpen roulette, starting with winning pitcher Angel Zerpa, who got KC out of that jam and then got the first out of the sixth. John Schreiber got three more outs, Sam Long two, Kris Bubic three and Lucas Erceg the final three to earn his second save of the series.
“It’s so impressive that they believe in themselves and they trust their stuff and they just come after some of the best hitters in the world,” Quatraro said.
Cionel Pérez took the loss.
The Orioles were swept in their only playoff series for a second consecutive year, going 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position this time and 5 for 32 combined. They face numerous off-season questions, from the future of manager Brandon Hyde to the possibility of losing pending free-agent starter Corbin Burnes.
“Especially when you lose like this, there’s frustration, there’s anger, there’s disappointment because you felt like there was opportunities there in those couple games to change the score, and it didn’t happen,” Hyde said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: LF Colton Cowser broke his left hand when it was hit by the ball as he struck out swinging in the fifth. He exited after six innings.
UP NEXT
The Royals face Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in the opener of their ALDS, with any starter but Ragans or Lugo rested and ready to go. Wacha had been in line to start Game 3 against Baltimore.
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