Kansas City Royals: Five players to watch vs Baltimore Orioles
![May 11, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Alex Gordon (4), left fielder Jorge Bonifacio (38), right fielder Jorge Soler (12) , pitcher Al Albuquerque (62) and teammates congratulate each other after they beat the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Kansas City Royals defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports May 11, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Alex Gordon (4), left fielder Jorge Bonifacio (38), right fielder Jorge Soler (12) , pitcher Al Albuquerque (62) and teammates congratulate each other after they beat the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Kansas City Royals defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/a89a0c15d1cd469910f92138f039b202e59264ee91a2f59f5855eb1304b4f3d0.jpg)
The Kansas City Royals are coming off their first series win in almost a month, but hey… A series win is a series win. Next up are the Baltimore Orioles, who will be coming to Kauffman Stadium for a weekend series.
Okay, sure, the KC Royals managed to win a series against a very bad Tampa Bay Rays team, but does the opponent really matter at this point? The Royals are also a bad team and all wins are good wins.
Not only did the Royals win this series, but their offense actually put up runs in the process (in all but one game)! The pitching was pretty good too, with only Jason Hammel struggling on the mound.
Even with a big series win, the Royals will have their work cut out for them when they welcome in the Baltimore Orioles this weekend. The Orioles are currently sitting at 22-11 and are second in their division as of Thursday evening.
The Royals and Orioles have an interesting history over the past few seasons. Kansas City swept the Orioles in the 2014 ALCS and Baltimore probably hasn’t forgotten about that. Last season, the two feuded when the late Yordano Ventura and Manny Machado got into a physical altercation during a game.
With this big series coming up, what five Royals should fans be keeping an eye on?