Corbin Burnes Dominates, Royals Win Anyway, and Orioles Miss Huge Opportunity in Game 1 (Video)

BALTIMORE — A misty, gray fog enveloped the Charm City on Tuesday morning. At first, the steady rain seemed like a good sign for the Orioles. The fact that a team obsessed with water and its various states of flow woke up to a downpour on the day of its first postseason game this year seemed fitting.

Over the past 18 months, water-related gadgets and tricks have become a ubiquitous part of the Orioles experience. Players imitate taps after hitting a single, squirting water from their mouths when a teammate hits a double. At the end of the dugout is a converted beer funnel, called the “hydration station.” After O’s home run, players fill the device with water and ceremoniously sip it. In the left-center field, an area of ​​seats known as the “Bird Bath” is doused with a water hose by a figure in a float and goggles named Mr. Splash whenever a team records an off-base hit.

Perhaps it was a bad sign that the drizzle stopped about an hour before kick-off.

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On the day that ace Corbin Burnes delivered the best playoff performance of his life, allowing just one run in eight masterful innings, Baltimore’s offense dried up to the bone. Kansas City quarterback Cole Ragans surprised the Birds for six innings with a barrage of well-placed heaters before leaving the game prematurely with calf issues. His bullpen finished the job, tossing three scoreless innings and making sure the Orioles didn’t get anywhere.

The Royals scored only once, on a two-run RBI single from shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Third baseman Maikel Garcia, whose stolen base earlier in the inning proved crucial, ran home to give Kansas City the lead. That was enough.

“As (veteran Royals outfielder) Tommy Pham says, whenever you allow the other team zero runs, you have a 99.999999 percent chance of winning the game,” Witt joked after his team’s 1-0 victory.

Its arrival to this day should come as no surprise. The 24-year-old forward spent the entire regular season establishing himself as one of the team’s best players. He led the “Królewska” to victory many times. In many other seasons, his 32 home runs, 31 steals and .332 batting average combined with his outstanding shortstop defense earned him the MVP award. And his enormous talent is matched only by his unrestrained joy in playing and rare, childlike energy.

Last week, during the Royals’ wild-card champagne celebration, Witt told MLB.com that he was most excited to get the October-themed jerseys he saw so often on TV as a kid. On Tuesday, in the first postseason game of his young career, the power dynamo was at an all-time high.

The Orioles bats certainly didn’t do that, squandering one of the greatest playoff starts in recent years.

Burnes, who was removed after allowing a leadoff single in the ninth, became the first starter since Stephen Strasburg in Game 6 of the 2019 World Series to throw a pitch in the ninth inning of a playoff game. In the last decade of postseason baseball, only seven other starting pitchers have worked so deep. Only one – Matt Harvey against the same Kansas City Royals in Game 5 of the 2015 World Series – lost a game.

The same fate befell Burnes, whom the Orioles acquired from Milwaukee in the winter for a pair of highly touted prospects. The trade represented the first truly aggressive move by Orioles general manager Mike Elias and his front office since the team’s competitive window opened in 2023. Parting with controllable young talent and adding a pending free agent in Burnes showed the baseball world that the Orioles were I’m going for it. They took advantage of the opportunity using their dynamic, young offensive core.

That core was nowhere to be found on Tuesday. Baltimore’s top five hitters – Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Anthony Santander, Ryan Mountcastle and Adley Rutschman – were 1-for-18 against the Royals. Ragans was outstanding, but the Orioles helped him by wasting two golden opportunities in the early innings. Twice, nine-hole catcher and hitter James McCann struck out in a huge spot — first in third, with a runner on second and no one out, and then in the fifth, with runners on the corners and one down. It was as close as Baltimore could get.

As the number of zeros increased, a dark cloud of déjà vu appeared over Camden Yards. Last year, the Orioles’ 101-win AL East team entered the postseason with enormous expectations. In two ALDS home games against the Texas Rangers, the Birds have been disappointing. They were swept away by the eventual champions, blinded by the spotlight, swallowed up by the moment.

Before the fall tournament, the Birds viewed their late-season swoon as a positive, arguing that a brush with adversity would energize them as the October pressure cooker begins. They saw the bottom and fought. Now they’ve dealt with the intensity.

This is the opposite of what happened on Tuesday. Once again, Baltimore’s offense faltered on the big stage.

This was even more frustrating considering how well Burnes was throwing.

After speaking to members of the media after the game, the Baltimore ace sat silently in a chair in front of his locker. Still dressed in a black short-sleeved T-shirt and gaming pants, Burnes aimlessly scrolled through his phone, which he held in his right hand, the same dominant hand that was dominant just a few hours earlier.

Other Orioles, passing their ace, took a second to recognize his masterpiece. They patted Burnes on the back, punched him, or stammered some version of “great job today.” Burnes, feeling disappointment wash over him, either nodded in acknowledgment or mumbled a response. The gesture from Burnes’ teammates was part congratulations, part apology. “Thank you” and “I’m sorry.”

And if the Orioles lose on Wednesday, bye.

Burnes remains a free agent as Baltimore’s season comes to an end. He will have a contract worth over $200 million. It doesn’t seem like the Orioles – analytically oriented and historically frugal – are likely to keep their ace. Burnes is expected to feature in a variety of colors next season. If the Birds fail to make a turnaround, his time in Charm City will be remembered as a huge missed opportunity.

For six months and one wet day in October, Burnes kept his end of the bargain.

The same can’t be said for Baltimore’s lineup.