Bobby Witt Jr. hit an infield single that drove in the go-ahead run, helping the Kansas City Royals secure a spot in the AL Division Series with a 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. This victory completed a two-game sweep in their Wild Card Series.
Witt hit a ground ball to the edge of the dirt behind second base with two outs and runners on first and third in the sixth inning. Jordan Westburg made a diving stop and threw to first, but Witt reached the base just in time after sprinting 90 feet in 4.14 seconds, allowing Kyle Isbel to score from third.
“I just had to try to run,” Witt said. This was the second game in a row where the AL batting champion delivered the key hit. His RBI single in the series opener on Tuesday provided 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 faced two seven-game losing streaks in the last month of the season, will now play against the AL East champion New York Yankees. Game 1 is set for Saturday in the Bronx.
Cedric Mullins hit a home run for the Orioles, who have now lost five straight playoff games over the last two years. Baltimore has dropped its last 10 postseason matches.
The revamped Royals lost 106 games last season but improved by 30 wins to reach October for the first time since winning the World Series in 2015.
Second baseman Michael Massey, who started the game with a double and scored on a single by Vinnie Pasquantino, mentioned that the front office’s decision to bring in experienced veterans like Tommy Pham, Yuli Gurriel, Michael Wacha, and Will Smith made this success 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 managed to win another tight game with little room for error, thanks to some skilled managing by Matt Quatraro. He is also new to the postseason, like Witt, Game 1 winner Cole Ragans, and many others.
Quatraro allowed starter Seth Lugo to get one out after loading the bases with no outs in the fifth inning before turning to the bullpen.
He started with winning pitcher Angel Zerpa, who got Kansas City out of that tough spot and then secured the first out of the sixth. John Schreiber got three more outs, Sam Long got two, Kris Bubic secured three, and Lucas Erceg finished with 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 the second year in a row, going 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position this time and 5 for 32 combined.
They face many questions this offseason, including the future of manager Brandon Hyde and the possibility of losing 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 were opportunities there in those couple of games to change the score, and it didn’t happen,” Hyde said.
