Royals’ small ball takes on Orioles’ power
BALTIMORE — Speed versus power.
The surprising Kansas City Royals and unflappable Baltimore Orioles are extremely similar with one significant exception: the fashion in which they score runs. The team that best utilizes its standard method of offence will likely win the best- of- seven AL Championship Series, which begins Friday night.
Get ready for small ball versus long ball.
Back in April, few could have predicted these two teams would be the last standing in the American League. But the fashion in which they got here — with stunningly easy sweeps in the Division Series — makes this matchup intriguing.
Even more interesting is their contrasting styles.
The Royals love to take an extra base, whether it’s turning a single into a double or stealing their way into scoring position. Kansas City led the majors with 153 stolen bases during the regular season then, with blazingfast rookie Terrance Gore, added seven in a wild- card win over Oakland and five more in a three- game wipeout of the topseeded Los Angeles Angels.
“Speed. That’s what we do,” designated hitter Billy Butler said. “Obviously, you have to be smart about it, but we’re a very aggressive team. When our speed guys get on they like to go. That’s what got us to this point — that, and pitching and defence.”
The Orioles, like the Royals, feature a solid starting rotation, an effective bullpen and strong defence. But Baltimore prefers to take a more leisurely trip around the bases.
Although Baltimore finished last in the majors with 44 stolen bases, it led the majors with 211 home runs. Nelson Cruz had 40, only 55 fewer than the Royals hit while finishing last in the big leagues as the only team that didn’t hit 100. And so, the lines are drawn. “Obviously, we’ll be asked to keep the Orioles in check in terms of their power and the big inning,” Royals right- hander Jeremy Guthrie said. “On the flip side, the Orioles pitchers will be asked to try and keep our guys off base and not allow us to string together a couple of hits to get us runs.” It’s really that simple. “The best way to keep them from stealing is to keep them off the bases. That’s our first goal,” Baltimore reliever Tommy Hunter said. “I’m not too worried about it. You know they’re fast, you know they run. Hopefully they run into outs.”
That doesn’t mean Kansas City can’t go deep or the Orioles are unable to run. It’s just that each team has adopted the style best suited for its own stadium.
“The Royals can hit home runs. They just play in a big ballpark,” Baltimore centre- fielder Adam Jones said. “They’ve got guys who can drive the ball, and we’ve also got guys who can run. In our ballpark it brings a different dynamic because it’s smaller, in their ballpark, it brings a different dynamic because it’s bigger. But we’ve got some hairy guys on our team. If we’re hitting in the Grand Canyon, we can still put ’ em out.”
Cruz homered in the Orioles’ clinching win over Detroit Sunday. Just a few hours later, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas each hit a two- run shot in the Royals’ 8- 3 win over L. A.
“Home runs are definitely a difference- maker in the game,” Butler said. “That’s what we’ve done in the playoffs. We’ve had home runs win games, but that hasn’t been the way we won games throughout the season.”