Today at 4:07 p.m. ET the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals will be back at it for Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. The Royals took Game 1 in extra innings, and will aim for a commanding 2-0 lead on TBS. Live stream the game free by clicking this link; Royals fans can catch the radio broadcast on KCSP 610, while Orioles fans may do likewise on 1090 WBAL. Yordano Ventura will take the hill for Kansas City against Bud Norris.
Last night's victory was the fourth extra-innings win for Kansas City this postseason, and manager Ned Yost said the more free baseball they play, the stronger they become. "These games, we've played so many of them (in the playoffs) that we're kind of used to them a little bit," Yost said. "And we still have a lot of confidence."
The star of Game 1 was outfielder Alex Gordon. He made a highlight-reel catch in left field, and drove in three runs. He smacked a bases-clearing double in the third inning to put Kansas City up 4-0, and then broke a 5-5 tie in the 10th inning with a leadoff home run.
The Orioles entered the series with the reputation as the big boppers, but Gordon and Co. proved the Royals can knock them out of the park as well.
"We know we're capable of hitting home runs," Gordon said. "We didn't do it during the regular season. But it doesn't really matter. This is the postseason and we're starting to swing the bats better now."
The desperate Orioles now must salvage a split before heading to Kansas City for three straight games. They'll try to turn on Ventura's heater and get the long ball working, but Ventura said his rookie playoff butterflies are gone.
"The first outing for me there was a little bit more pressure," Ventura said. "Back to business as usual, where I just want to go out and help my team and be an effective pitcher."
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