Royals vs Orioles Game 1 Betting Pick For 10/1/2024

The Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles will square off in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series on Tuesday, October 1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Both of these teams finished in second place in their respective divisions this year, but are just a couple of wins away from moving onto the ALDS. Here, we break down Royals vs Orioles Game 1 and make our best bet for a game that will be a huge litmus test for both teams as they look to jump out in front in this series.

Royals Facing Tough Road Test

This season, the Kansas City Royals finished in second in the AL Central with a record of 86-76. The strength of the Royals this season was their pitching, as they finished in the top-five in runs allowed in the American League this year. They will look to remain stingy with their pitching and defense to start this series, as they take on an Orioles team that has one of the more explosive lineups in all of baseball.

For Kansas City to accomplish that, they are going to need starting pitcher Cole Ragans to deliver in a big way. Ragans is 11-9 through the regular season, with an ERA of 3.14. Ragans didn't lose a start in the month of September, giving up just three earned runs in 25 innings of work in his four starts leading up to the playoffs. If he can keep pitching well today, the Royals could steal Game 1 on the road.

Orioles Send Their Ace to the Mound

Baltimore finished in second-place in the AL East, finishing three games behind the New York Yankees in the race for the AL East. Baltimore finished second to the Yankees in the American League in scoring this season as well, as the Orioles might be the second-best team behind the Yankees in the American League overall heading into the playoffs. Here, the Orioles offense will look to continue to bludgeon opponents at home, but it will be the starting pitching that is the focal point for the O's in this contest.

Corbin Burnes will get the start for the Orioles in Game 1 against Kansas City. Burnes has a record of 15-9 and an ERA of 2.92, which was in the top-10 in all of baseball this season. Burnes pitched against the Royals twice in the month of April, with the Orioles winning both of those games. A third win over the Royals with Burnes on the mound could be in the cards if Burnes is at or near his best in this AL Wild Card matchup.

Royals vs Orioles Game 1 Pick

With Corbin Burnes on the mound today, it is hard to bet against the home team in Royals vs Orioles Game 1. We will lay the runline with the Orioles in this contest at odds of around +150. Look for Burnes to throw a gem and for the Royals offense to struggle to keep up with Baltimore.