Once the Baltimore Orioles officially locked up their place in the 2024 postseason, they were hoping to flush all the issues that had plagued them in the latter part of the year by focusing on resetting and getting ready for the playoffs.

They have all the talent in the world to make a deep run, but there were still some questions if this group is truly ready to take that next step after getting swept out of the ALDS round in 2023.

The Orioles brought in Corbin Burnes to become the ace of their staff and give this group a real chance at winning playoff games, something that he delivered on in Game 1 against the Kansas City Royals.

Unfortunately, Baltimore’s lineup did not show up and squandered the star’s performance during their 1-0 loss on Tuesday.

With the Royals throwing their own ace Cole Ragans, this was setting up to be a classic pitcher’s duel, and that’s exactly what it was throughout the contest.

The first and only run wasn’t scored until the top of the sixth inning when superstar Bobby Witt Jr. broke the stalemate with an RBI single.

Burnes was credited with the loss, but he was sensational, pitching 8.0 innings where he gave up just that one run on five hits while striking out three batters compared to one walk.

The Orioles were only able to muster five hits, with two them coming from Cedric Mullins.