The thoughts of Orioles magic and Royals destiny were further enhanced on Thursday with their respective wins in the Division Series openers.
Both victors reaffirmed positive trends that were set during the regular season, while the losers exposed potential vulnerabilities that could yield to an early exit.
1. Brad Ausmus is relying heavily on his starting pitchers…and with good reason
The first-year Tigers manager had a postseason opener that he’d soon like to forget. A 4-3 deficit quickly turned into a 12-3 drubbing thanks to a nightmarish bottom of the eighth—where Detroit’s greatest weakness reared its ugly head.
Starter Max Scherzer, for the most part, settled down after giving up three early runs. Even though he relinquished a fourth run in the seventh and his pitch count neared the century mark, Ausmus kept him in to start the next inning—knowing full well that his tiring ace was far better than any fresh reliever.
But when Alejandro De Aza laced a one-out double, it marked the end of the night for the 18-game winner. And that’s when it all unraveled.
With the assistance of an Andrew Romine error, Detroit’s trio of relievers—Joba Chamberlain, Joakim Soria and Phil Coke—collectively allowed six earned runs in an inning that saw Baltimore put up an ‘8’ on the Camden Yards scoreboard.
2. Buck Showalter is relying heavily on his bullpen
The glaring contrast in this Division Series match-up between the O’s and Tigers is shown in the quality arms at the ready in late-game situations.
Showalter’s best skill as a manager is in his ability to utilize the ideal pitcher/hitter match-ups that favor his ball club. And considering what Buck has in his bullpen with Baltimore, those praise-worthy tactics become more apparent.
While Ausmus’ is certainly unwilling to call on relief, Showalter was unafraid to yank No. 1 starter Chris Tillman with five innings under his belt and having given up just four hits and two runs—even if he had thrown 105 pitches up to that point. The reason? Baltimore was 75-7 this season when leading after seven innings.
Andrew Miller picked up Tillman with 1.2 hitless frames, Darren O’Day’s only blemish in his inning of work was giving up a home run to Miguel Cabrera, and Zach Britton was poised for a four-out save if not for the Orioles’ offensive explosion in the eighth.
3. Nelson Cruz picking up where he left off
Talk about a return on investment. Baltimore signed Nelson Cruz to a 1-year, $8 million contract this past off-season. Safe to say, the O’s got more than paid for. Cruz’ season at the highest value continued on Thursday with a homer in the second to spark a 2-for-4 night with three RBI and a pair of runs scored. The October stage is nothing new for Cruz, and he’s regularly been money in the postseason.
Nelson Cruz, currently playing his 35th career playoff game, has 15 homers and a .709 slugging percentage in the postseason.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) October 2, 2014
Facing the Tigers in the 2011 ALCS as a member of the Rangers, Cruz belted an astonishing six home runs and drove in 13 (both playoff records) en route to a Texas pennant and the series MVP.
4. Royals have been common denominator of early playoff drama
It’s unlikely that the Kansas City Royals used a plane to get to Anaheim following the high that was their memorable 12-inning Wild Card win over Oakland. That momentum and excitement exhibited on Tuesday night in Kauffman Stadium transferred to the West Coast.
While the Giants and Orioles each used blowouts to earn their initial playoff victories, the Royals had yet another thriller in store for Thursday. Once again, Kansas City needed extra innings—which included clutch bullpen efforts and breathtaking catches in the outfield—before Mike Moustakas’ home run to right field in the top of the 12th broke a 2-2 tie. It proved to be the game-winner, as closer Greg Holland shut down any hopes of an Angel response and put the all-important home-field advantage in K.C.’s corner.
In order to watch the feel-good story of the postseason, a respirator is required.
5. Angels need their power hitters
Mike Trout’s debut in postseason play didn’t result in any significant moments. In fact, it was mainly a disappointment. Not only did he fail to record a hit in Los Angeles’ 3-2 loss, Trout, while playing center field, also lost an Alex Gordon line drive in the lights during the fifth inning. Gordon eventually came around to score the Royals’ second run.
But it wasn’t just Trout that struggled. The formidable trio of Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton combined to go 0-for-13 against Kansas City pitching, while clean-up hitter Howie Kendrick went hitless in five at-bats.
The Angels’ had a serious chance to jump on top in the bottom of the eighth, especially after Trout drew a walk that put runners on first and second with one out. However, a Pujols pop-up to second base and a Kendrick strikeout ended the threat. They managed just one hit the rest of the way.
Halos starter Jered Weaver’s quality outing went for naught and Los Angeles is in need of a better offensive showing during a Game 2 that’s all but a must-win.