Baltimore Orioles, KC Royals to face off in crucial post-deadline series
By Nate Wardle
The revenge factor
These two teams have had a bit of a storied past over the last few years. On field altercations, wars of words in the playoffs, blown saves by good closers, etc.
The Royals kept the Orioles from the World Series in 2014. They may have kept them from winning the World Series.
The Royals also are the ones who started the downturn that could sabotage the Orioles’ season.
Wouldn’t it be nice to take out that frustration and get back in the playoff race against KC?
The Royals are up 2.5 games on the first challenger, the Tampa Bay Rays. So a sweep would put the Orioles at most only 3.5 games out of a wild card spot.
There are a lot of teams still between the Baltimore Orioles and a playoff spot.
But, as discussed, the schedule gets much easier in August, mainly when playing teams from the AL West. The Athletics just traded Sonny Gray, and the Mariners are a leading contender the Orioles are competing with, as are the Angels.
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If the Orioles want to be a playoff team, they can play their way there.
A big series win against the Royals will go a long way toward pushing them in that direction.