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Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series is getting ready to take place as the Kansas City Royals take on the Baltimore Orioles. The Royals secured a 1-0 road win in Game 1 of this best-of-three series so this will be an interesting game. Seth Lugo gets the ball for the Royals while Zach Eflin takes the mound for the Orioles in this game.

Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles Odds

• Kansas City Royals (+130) vs. Baltimore Orioles (-150)
• Kansas City Royals +1.5 (-170) vs. Baltimore Orioles -1.5 (+130)
• Over 7.5 Runs (+105) vs. Under 7.5 Runs (-130)

Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles Match Details

• Fixture: Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles
• Date and Time: Wednesday, October 2 at 4:38 PM ET
• Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD

Key Stats

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals were able to do just enough in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series to win the game as they secured a 1-0 road win. The lineup went 5-of-29 with two walks and four strikeouts in the game. Third baseman Maikel Garcia was the only player to reach base multiple times for the Royals and the team failed to record an extra base hit.

However, Garcia was able to steal a base while Bobby Witt Jr. was caught stealing. Kansas City went just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position but Witt's RBI single was enough and the team left three men on base. Cole Ragans pitched well as he threw six shutout innings before leaving with cramps and set the Royals up for a possible sweep.

Veteran southpaw Seth Lugo (16-9, 3.00 ERA) will be taking the ball for the Kansas City Royals in this game and has looked outstanding as a starting pitcher this year. He held the opposition to a .229 batting average against, so the batters are going to struggle to string hits together against him. Lugo faced the Orioles once during the regular season back on April 21 as he lost by going 5.1 innings and allowed four runs on nine hits with one walk and one strikeout.

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles were unable to get much offense going in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card after losing 1-0. The lineup was just 5-of-32 with a pair of walks and 10 strikeouts in the game. Cedric Mullins and Ramon Urias each hit a double in this game as the only extra-base hits for the O's. Baltimore struggled as they were 1-of-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Corbin Burnes pitched a gem as he went eight innings and allowed one run, but wound up getting the loss as the team is now on the brink of elimination.

Righty Zach Eflin (10-9, 3.59 ERA) will be toeing the slab for the Baltimore Orioles in this game and is asked to pitch well to keep the team's season alive. He looks like a completely different pitcher since being traded to the Baltimore Orioles as he has 11 walks to 47 strikeouts in 55.1 innings (nine starts) since being moved. Eflin faced the Royals once in the regular season back on July 4 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. In that gam, he secured the win despite giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts in five innings of work.

Prediction

The Baltimore Orioles are going to be playing tight and have all hands on deck here after losing Game 1. The Orioles have a brutal bullpen and it is tough to expect many options doing well, as apparent of the ninth inning yesterday. The Royals do not strike out often and will put the ball in play. With Baltimore struggling to end the season, take the Kansas City Royals to win Game 2 of the series and sweep the AL Wild Card series here.

Final Pick

Kansas City Royals ML (+130)

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