As the Orioles prepare to face the Royals in Kansas City for Game 3 after hard-fought losses in the first two games of the ALCS, Royals center-fielder Jarrod Dyson decided to talk a little smack. When asked if he thought the series would return to Baltimore (for Game 6), he replied: “No sir, I don’t. And I don’t think they think that, either.”
But there’s more:
“If we win Game 3, it’s going to be hard for them to look themselves in the mirror and say, ‘We can win the next four.’ That’s tough to do, man. … Everything must click. I’m just being honest. If we take Game 3, I guarantee there’s going to be multiple people over there saying, ‘Man, ain’t no way we can beat these guys four games in a row.”
Obviously, Dyson has forgotten that the Orioles have kept morale high in the face of tough odds before. The 2014 season comes to mind!
The Orioles more-or-less laughed off Dyson’s comments. Relief pitcher Darren O’Day told MASN’s Roch Kubatko, “I know we’re not really shaking in our boots right now. We’re ready to play baseball.”
Catcher Nick Hundley considered it typical. “That’s kind of their M.O. is to talk and try to be loud and do that stuff,” he said, “but our M.O. is to go out and play the game.”
With the Royals putting up their weakest and most home-run-prone starter against Wei-Yin Chen tonight, Dyson should probably focus on the game at hand.
Oh well, maybe one of the league’s best base runners is just mad that he’s been caught stealing twice this series.
