Orioles, Adam Jones in dire straits: 'We gotta win'
KANSAS CITY --- Adam Jones is one of the chattiest players in baseball but his analysis of the Baltimore Orioles' situation is quite brief.
"We gotta win," the All-Star center fielder said Tuesday night. "You can talk about this or that but we gotta win."
The Orioles fell behind three-games-to-none in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series with a 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals in Game 3 at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals will look to sweep the series Wednesday in Game 4, which is scheduled to start at 4:07 p.m. ET.
The only way the Orioles are going to get to the World Series for the first time in more than three decades is to channel the 2004 Boston Red Sox. That was the only team in major league history to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven postseason season, stunning the New York Yankees in the ALCS.
The toughest part of this series for the Orioles is they could be up 3-0 and one win away from their first World Series trip since 1983 when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.
The Orioles lost 8-6 in 10 innings in Game 1 last Friday then 6-4 in Game 2 a day later when the Royals rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth. Game 3 was decided by one run, Billy Butler breaking a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly.
Orioles first baseman Steve Pearce admits he finds it hard not to wonder if Baltimore has come against a team of destiny. The Royals are 7-0 in their first postseason appearance since 1983, the 29-year wait representing what had been the longest current drought in major North American professional team sports.
"It just seems like they're riding that wave right now," Pearce said. "It just seems like everything is going their way. We're playing well and we're in every game but it hasn't been enough. When a team is riding that way, they're tough to beat."
The Orioles refuse to say they are frustrated, though. In fact, manager Buck Showalter holds firm to the belief his team will somehow find a way to match those Red Sox of a decade ago.
"Always feel like the momentum can change," Showalter said. "If we can get one (win) under our belt and get a few things to work out our way, we can get it spinning the other way. Otherwise, we shouldn't show up.
"I know what our guys in our locker room feel like. They know they're up against some good competition. But always one more opportunity away. We'll sleep fast, and our guys will be ready."
Showalter is confident enough is his Orioles that he decided not to use his top starter, right-hander Chris Tillman, to pitch Game 4 on regular four days of rest. Instead, right-hander Miguel Gonzalez will start in what will be his first game action since working five innings Sept. 28 in the regular-season finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.
"Gonzalez has pitched some big games for us and especially on the road and tough spots," Showalter said.
Gonzalez is 6-4 with a 3.27 ERA in 14 road starts this year. None, though, has been as important as the one he will make in Game 4.
GALLERY: ALCS - ROYALS vs. ORIOLES