Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals Prediction, Betting Pick and Latest Odds for AL Wild Card Game 1

Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals Prediction, Betting Pick and Latest Odds for AL Wild Card Game 1

The Baltimore Orioles host the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday afternoon as Camden Yards is the site for Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series.

Baltimore entered the year as the favorite to win the AL East, but a strong season from the New York Yankees bumped the O's to a Wild Card spot. The O's reached the MLB postseason last year but lost in round one.

Brandon Hyde's squad will have a sour taste in their mouth coming into this series, and the last time the Orioles won a playoff series was in 2014.

Kansas City is making its first playoff appearance since 2015. The last time the Royals were in the playoffs, they won the World Series.

The end of the season was not pretty for KC, which had an 11-14 record in September. On top of that, Kansas City is 4-6 in its last 10 games.

Click here for the latest Orioles vs. Royals odds for Game 1

Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals Game 1 Date, Time and Where to Watch

• Date: October 1, 2024
• Time: 4:00 pm ET
• Where to Watch: ESPN2

Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals Game 1 Odds

Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals Prediction

The Orioles have enough talent to go on a World Championship run, but will they?

From an offensive perspective, Gunnar Henderson leads the O's, batting .281 with 177 hits. On top of that, Anthony Santander has enjoyed the best year of his career, launching 44 home runs and 102 RBIs.

Catcher Adley Rutschman has added 19 home runs and 79 RBIs.

Former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes is 15-9 with an ERA of 2.92 and will get the start for the Orioles today. He'll be looking to shut down a Royals lineup that features one of the best young players in baseball.

Bobby Witt Jr. has enjoyed an MVP-level season. Witt is batting .332 with 32 home runs and 109 RBIs on the season.

The Royals also get back one of their best hitters, Vinnie Pasquantino, who launched 19 home runs and drove in 97 runs. Veteran Salvador Perez has enjoyed a strong year with 27 long balls and 104 runs batted in.

Southpaw Cole Ragans gets the call today. Ragans is 11-9 with a 3.14 ERA.

Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals Pick

• Pick: Baltimore Orioles -1 +118 (Click here for the latest Orioles vs. Royals odds for Game 1)

I love the value we are getting on the O's today.

Burnes has big-game experience, which he will use to his advantage. The Orioles' ace has great numbers against KC, holding them to a .233 batting average in 60 at-bats.

Baltimore ranks 7th in baseball in batting average vs. left-handed pitching, so I'm expecting that Ragans will struggle against this Baltimore lineup today.