The Kansas City Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 on Wednesday to complete the two-game sweep and advance to the ALDS.
Lucas Erceg nailed down the save for the second consecutive night, striking out MVP candidate Gunnar Henderson swinging.
The Royals’ dominant pitching staff held the vaunted Orioles’ lineup to just one run across both games.
“These guys, 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,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said, according to ASAP Sports.
Vinnie Pasquantino gave the Royals and starter Seth Lugo an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first inning.
Lugo cruised through the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. He allowed a home run to Cedric Mullins, then committed a fielding error that loaded the bases with no outs. He recorded an out on a pop-up before being relieved by Angel Zerpa, who worked out of the jam.
Bobby Witt Jr. drove in the winning run for the second time in as many nights with an infield single in the sixth inning.
Kansas City, making its first playoff run since winning the 2015 World Series, will play the New York Yankees next.
Baltimore has now lost 10 straight postseason games.
“Disappointed. Broken. Maybe regretful. … It’s going to sting a little bit,” said Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg, according to The Baltimore Banner’s Danielle Allentuck. “You spend all season with these guys and it ends that quickly. It just sucks.”
Game 1 of the Kansas-New York series is scheduled for Saturday at 6:38 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium.
