I might be a bit of a sucker for the Orioles at home. Are they really going to get swept out of the WC Round at Camden Yards a second straight season? Yes if that offense doesn't get going. Every team in the majors would like to have Adley Rutschman, but he has been lousy for a few months at the plate -- probably the biggest reason the O's have fallen off in the second half. But they were tremendous against right-handed pitching and hit KC's Seth Lugo fairly hard early this year. Needless to say, it's all hands on deck behind BAL's Zach Eflin, who has has a 2.60 since being acquired from Tampa Bay. We push, we push.

The Orioles have not won a playoff game in a decade and they barely registered a pulse at home on Tues. Naive team could not handle pressure last Oct and it showed in second half this season. Zach Eflin was a late announce as a starter, he had unusual command issues in last start and something might be off. Royals have the superior pen. Orioles haven't hit with RISP in months. Doubt they start now. Eflin got pounded by Royals in July. O's come up small in big spots. Can't control the run game. Adley Rutschman has been an automatic out for months. These 3-game WC series tend to be sweeps, albeit small sample size.