The Kansas City Royals are two wins away from shocking the baseball community. Constantly the pun of every World Series joke, the team can break their extensive drought with just two more wins over the Baltimore Orioles. The Royals have forced their American League rival into a must-win game Game 3 after taking the first two matchups. Now, Kansas City returns back home to attempt to continue their sweep in the postseason.
Baltimore's road record could be the x-factor in the matchup. The team went 46-35 on the road last season and they will need all of that if they intend to continue this series with Kansas City. The team is a power-hitting club getting beat by the small ball and strong defensive plays. One bit of history not working in the Orioles' favor is the fact that in the best-of-seven format, no team has rallied after being down two games. That is a heavy drought to overcome.
Baltimore will send Wei-Yin Chen to the mound in hopes that he can get the team a win. He only pitched 3.2 innings in his last game up, giving up five earned runs in the process. He looked strong in his two games against the Royals earlier this season which could come in handy. The Orioles thought they would have at least one win to their name in this series after rallying in Game 2. However, Alcides Escobar hit the go-ahead double that ended the game.
Kansas City will put Jeremy Guthrie on the mound. He is coming off of injury and has not pitched since September which could be good or bad. He has thrown a simulated game and the Royals feel confident in his abilities. Guthrie's main goal is to hold the game down until it is time to pass the ball off to the best bullpen in baseball. Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera will take over from their as they continue to be just as good in the postseason as they were in the regular season.
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