MLB Series of the Week: Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals

Two American League powerhouses will be facing off for a three-game series, starting Friday, April 4. The series will take place at Kauffman Stadium, home to the Royals.

The Orioles and Royals are no strangers to each other. In fact, they played one another in the 2024 AL Wild Card Series.

The Royals ended up sweeping the Orioles 2-0. The Orioles struggled to find any offense at all as they scored a total of one run in the two outings.

The one run came off the bat of center fielder Cedric Mullins, who has been firing on all cylinders to start his 2025 campaign. He is one of the league leaders with three home runs and 11 RBIs in five games.

On the other side is Bobby Witt Jr., one of the brightest young stars in today's game. Witt Jr. has had a bit of a slow start with only three RBIs in six outings. However, Baltimore knows more than anybody that Witt Jr. is a difference-maker in games.

Baltimore will have to pitch well against him if they want to succeed on defense.

Speaking of pitching, the starting pitcher matchups will be: Dean Kremer vs. Seth Lugo, Tomoyuki Sugano vs. Michael Wacha and Cade Povich vs. Kris Bubic.

Pitching has become an area of concern for the Orioles. With Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish on the IL, and former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes signing with Arizona, their starting rotation is thin.

However, it seems that 24-year-old Cade Povich has made some big strides entering his second year in the majors. Povich recorded eight strikeouts and allowed just three earned runs against the Red Sox in the Orioles' home opener.

Povich will have to pitch against Kris Bubic, who put up similar numbers in his 2025 season debut. Bubic also recorded eight strikeouts but allowed zero earned runs.

Another factor that will have an impact on this game is whether shortstop Gunnar

Henderson is active or not. Henderson is still recovering from an injury he suffered in spring training. For the past week, he has been getting reps in with the Orioles Triple-A affiliate, the Norfolk Tides.

Manager Brandon Hyde is hopeful that Henderson could play this weekend, but no decisions have been made yet.

Another Orioles player dealing with an injury is Colton Cowser, who is out for six to eight weeks with a broken thumb. This is a big blow for the Orioles, as they will have to go some time without a player who drove in 24 home runs and 69 RBIs last year.

Kansas City will look to take advantage of Baltimore’s lack of availability by getting more runners on base. So far this season, they have struggled to put up runs. Hence, they are currently sitting at a 2-4 record.

Baltimore sits just one game above them with a 3-3 record.

Both of these teams will look to get back on track after suffering several losses this past week. These two ballclubs have high aspirations for their season and hope to get themselves back to the postseason.

This series should be a great indicator of where these teams currently stand, and what improvements need to be made.

These games can be watched at 7:10 p.m., 4:10 p.m. and 2:10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, on local programming.

Chase Brosend is a first-year majoring in journalism. To contact him, email czb5975@psu.edu.