BALTIMORE — The Kansas City Royals are headed to the American League Divisional Series.
On Wednesday, the Royals earned a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. KC swept the best-of-three AL wild-card series and will face the New York Yankees in the ALDS.
Game 1 of the ALDS begins on Saturday, Oct. 5.
The Royals got a solid start from right-hander Seth Lugo. The nine-year veteran allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings. He surrendered five hits and struck out six batters.
Lugo ran into trouble in the fifth inning. Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins hit a solo home run to begin the frame. Next, Lugo loaded the bases as the Orioles had a prime opportunity to take their first lead of the series.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro made a shrewd decision. He turned to his bullpen and inserted left-handed reliever Angel Zerpa in the high-leverage spot.
Zerpa picked up two crucial outs. He struck out Orioles rookie Colton Cowser and forced star catcher Adley Rutschman to ground out.
The game remained tied at 1-all. Zerpa tossed one inning and recorded two strikeouts.
The Royals regained the lead in the sixth inning when superstar Bobby Witt Jr. legged out an infield single to drive home outfielder Kyle Isbel.
Royals designated hitter Vinnie Pasquantino had an RBI single earlier in the game.
With the late lead, Quatraro turned to relievers John Schreiber, Sam Long, Kris Bubic and Lucas Erceg. That quartet protected the 2-1 lead, allowing one hit and striking out three batters combined across the final 3 2/3 innings.
The Orioles scored one run in 18 innings during the wild-card series.
Royals defense shines
Lugo got some timely help from his defense on Wednesday.
In the third inning, Royals outfielder MJ Melendez ran down a line drive on the warning track. The liner was tailing away from his defensive position, but he found a way to corral the baseball before hitting the outfield wall.
Melendez’s catch had a 5% catch probability. Additionally, the line drive would’ve been a home run in 27 of 30 MLB ballparks, per Baseball Savant.
An inning later, Massey saved a potential run from scoring. He made a diving catch to rob former Royal Ryan O’Hearn of a run-scoring single.
Massey ranged to his left and snared a line drive with full extension. He gathered himself and threw a strike to first baseman Yuli Gurriel to record the second out of the inning.
Lugo then retired infielder Ryan Mountcastle to end the threat. The Royals held their 1-0 advantage.
Both plays were celebrated by Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes. He shared his excitement in two tweets while watching the game.
The Royals are headed to the American League Divisional Series. The club will face the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 5.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:38 p.m. HST on TBS. Fans can also stream Game 1 on Max.
The Royals went 2-5 against the Yankees this season. KC lost two of three games in New York from Sept. 9-11 and the club was outscored 14-12 in the road series.
The clubs will renew their 1970s postseason rivalry. The Yankees hold a 9-8 all-time playoff series record. However, the Royals won the last postseason meeting in 1980.