Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals, Wednesday, 4:07 p.m. ET. TV: TBS
KANSAS CITY, Mo -- Heading into Game 4 of the ALCS, here are the the prevailing facts: the visiting Orioles are one loss from seeing their 2014 season end, and the home Royals are one win from advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1985. That is, the Royals lead the best-of-7 series by a count of 3-0. One game, two teams on the brink -- albeit very different brinks ...
Pitching matchup: RHP Miguel Gonzalez (3.23 ERA, 159 IP) vs. LHP Jason Vargas (3.71 ERA, 187 IP)
Gonzalez vs. Royals: Current Royals have logged just 70 combined career plate appearances against Gonzalez, and over that span they've batted .238/.275/.349. Among those current Royals, only Salvador Perez has homered off Gonzalez. This season, Gonzalez faced the Royals only once. On April 27, he worked six innings, allowed four runs on six hits and struck out four against one walk.
In terms of handedness tendencies, the Royals this season ranked 11th in the AL with aWeighted Runs Created+ (wRC+) of 92 against right-handers. By comparison, the Royals ranked 11th in overall wRC+ with a figure of 94.
As Gonzalez recently indicated, a shift to the middle of the rubber may have played a role in his pitching to an ERA of 2.19 in the second half. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in a start since Aug. 2.
Vargas vs. Orioles: Baltimore hitters have teamed up to bat a respectable .253/.321/.397 against Vargas in a combined 162 plate appearances. Nelson Cruz has enjoyed quite a bit of success against Vargas. In 39 PAs, Cruz has batted .333/.462/.800 with four home runs against the veteran left-hander. Sample-size caveats apply, of course.
Vargas did not face the Orioles during the 2014 regular season.
Against lefties like Vargas, the Orioles this season ranked fifth in the AL with a wRC+ of 106. Overall -- i.e., against both sides -- the O's ranked fourth in the AL with a wRC+ of 104.
What to watch
•Gonzalez has spent his entire three-year MLB career with the Orioles. Over that span, he's been slightly better on the road: a 3.49 ERA and 2.09 K/BB at home and a 3.42 ERA and 2.32 K/BB away from Camden Yards.
•Speaking of home and road, the Orioles' strong offense was pretty much the same in home/road splits as measured by wRC+. The Royals, though, put up a wRC+ of 99 on the road this season -- good for fifth in the AL -- but a mark of just 88 at home -- 14th in the AL.
•The only other team to sweep both the LDS and LCS round? The 2007 Rockies. They, in turn, were swept by the Red Sox in the World Series.
•Looking for a favorite for ALCS MVP? If the Royals close it out on Wednesday, then you've got to like Lorenzo Cain's chances. Cain enters Game 4 with an ALCS slash line of .667/.714/.883 with two doubles, two walks, five runs scored, a stolen base and, of course, strong defense in center field.
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