With two stud pitchers on the mound in Jon Lester for the Oakland A’s and James Shields for the Kansas City Royals in the American League Wild Card Game, it can be expected that runs will come at a premium for either side on Tuesday in Kansas City.
Unfortunately for both teams, that has already been the theme for quite some time.
After trading away slugger Yoenis Cespedes on July 31, the A’s were held off the scoreboard seven times, while the Royals finished the season ninth in the AL in runs scored and don’t have a single player with 20 homers and 75 runs batted in on the season.
So it’s safe to say that the way to win this game is by playing small ball, and that’s where the edge starts to tilt toward Kansas City.
The Royals had 33 sacrifice hits and 47 sacrifice flies on the season, while the A’s had 19 sacrifice hits (tied for the fewest in the majors) and 43 sacrifice flys, according to Baseball-Reference.com. Kansas City also stole the most bases among teams in the majors with 153 on the season, while Oakland had just 83.
One of the key catalysts for the Royals offense is shortstop Alcides Escobar, and he is expected to have a big game on Tuesday against Lester.
In 17 career at-bats against the Oakland southpaw, Escobar has a .353 average with six hits and no strikeouts. This season, Escobar was 3-for-7 off Lester.
Escobar has also found success since manager Ned Yost moved him from the bottom of the batting order to the leadoff spot in mid-September.
In the 16 games he hit from the top spot, Escobar batted .362 with a .478 slugging percentage. Yost announced Monday during a press conference that the shortstop with 31 stolen bases on the season will again hit leadoff in the AL Wild Card Game.
In these winner-take-all games, a Game 7 mentality is required for everyone. While the stars are expected to perform at their best, it’s often the players who fly under people’s radars that end up making a name for themselves in October.
On Tuesday night, expect Alcides Escobar to become one of those players.
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