The Kansas City Royals play the Baltimore Orioles on Friday in Game 1 of the 2014 AL Championship Series. The game starts at 8:07 p.m. ET. Watch the live stream or listen to the radio broadcast below.
Baltimore surprised many by sweeping the Detroit Tigers en route to the championship series. The Orioles are known for their hitters and their bullpen, which has been crucial in closing out games through the season. Although the Royals aren't known for hitting a plethora of homer runs, the Orioles still aren't underestimating the team's hitting power.
"The Royals can hit home runs. They just play in a big ballpark," said Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, via the Associated Press. "They've got guys who can drive the ball, and we've also got guys who can run. In our ballpark it brings a different dynamic because it's smaller, in their ballpark, it brings a different dynamic because it's bigger. But we've got some hairy guys on our team. If we're hitting in the Grand Canyon, we can still put 'em out."
The Orioles will also be keeping an eye on Kansas City's runners, who are more than capable of stealing bases.
"The best way to keep them from stealing is to keep them off the bases. That's our first goal," Orioles reliever Tommy Hunter said. "I'm not too worried about it. You know they're fast, you know they run. Hopefully they run into outs."
As for the Royals, they're well aware of Baltimore's league-leading hitting prowess.
"Obviously, we'll be asked to keep the Orioles in check in terms of their power and the big inning," Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie said. "On the flipside, the Orioles pitchers will be asked to try and keep our guys off base and not allow us to string together a couple of hits to get us runs."
James Shields starts Game 1 for Kansas City and will be opposed by Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman.
Watch the live stream HERE, or listen to the live radio broadcast HERE.
