Orioles Ready For Game 3 Of ALCS
By Samuel Njoku
Rained Out
The Baltimore Orioles were supposed to battle the Kansas City Royals in Game 3 of the ALCS on Monday, but due to weather the game was postponed until Tuesday. They had one more day to prepare for the Royals, which has become a must-win. Down 0-2 in the series, the Orioles have to win 2 out of their next 3 games in Kansas City to force the Royals back to Baltimore.
Kansas City Hitters Have the O's Pitching Number
Former Orioles Pitcher Jeremy Guthrie will go for the Royals as he'll try to place his old teammates into a near insurmountable 0-3 hole. Wei-Yin Chen will start game 3 for the O's and will need to do a better job than Tillman and Norris of staying in the game. That will be a challenge against a Kansas City lineup that has nearly perfected the art of small ball. That may be a tad weird to say as the Royals have defeated the Orioles the past 2 games due to the long ball. Clutch home runs by Kansas City has the Royals dreaming of a World Series that seemed out of their grasp a few weeks ago. But Buck Showalter isn't about to hand them that ticket just yet.
"You've got to win 4 games," stated Buck Showalter. "You've got to keep from losing three. But you look at the teams that compete during the course of the season, they compete on the road, too."
O's Still Have a Chance on the Road
The Orioles will definitely have their chances of competing on the road in this series. They'll have to compete and win in order to have a chance. Baltimore does love to play at home, but they were 46-35 on the road this season. While that doesn't seem like an impressive stat, it shows that this team can get it done outside of Camden Yards.
Of course getting back to Camden Yards won't be easy. A task Royals outfield Jarrod Dyson believes Baltimore won't be able to accomplish. "No sir, I don't," answered Dyson when asked if he believed Baltimore would return home. "And I don't think that they think that either."
That's a not so kind way of saying the Orioles are giving up. That's probably not the case. And Baltimore will have a chance to prove that in Game 3.
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Samuel Njoku was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and is a graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Samuel has covered the Ravens for Examiner.com since 2010. Prior to 2010, Samuel was an avid blogger and radio personality in Salisbury, MD. Samuel Njoku is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Ravens_Examiner.
