Schedule and 2014 Results
Regular Season Records: Baltimore 96-66, Kansas City 89-73
Game 1 on Friday, 10 October: Kansas City wins at Baltimore, 8-runs-6 (10 innings)
Game 2 on Saturday, 11 October: Kansas City wins at Baltimore, 6-runs-4
Game 3 on Tuesday, 14 October: Baltimore loses at Kansas City, 2-runs-1
Game 4 on Wednesday, 15 October: Baltimore loses at Kansas City, 2-runs-1

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 4: The Kansas City Royals hosted and outscored the Baltimore Orioles 2-runs-1 to complete a 4-games-nil best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1251 victory. With the series 1251 win, the Kansas City Royals improve their best-of-7 MLB playoff series record to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Semifinals round. With the series 1251 loss, the Baltimore Orioles see their best-of-7 MLB playoff series record fall to 3-6 overall and 0-3 in the Semifinals round. The win order for the victorious Kansas City Royals in series 1251 was WWWW: Series 1251 thus becomes the seventh MLB Semifinals-round series, the 28th MLB series (all rounds), and the 205th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion. The Royals scored a total of four runs in Kansas City in series 1251, the fewest runs at home by a victorious MLB team in a best-of-7 playoff series since series 954, in which the White Sox plated only four runs in Chicago en route to a 2005 American League Championship Series win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The sum of the victory margins in series 1251 was six runs, which ties series 11 (Boston Red Sox defeated Philadelphia Phillies in the 1915 MLB Finals), series 81 (New York Yankees defeated Philadelphia Phillies in the 1950 MLB Finals), and series 956 (Chicago White Sox defeated Houston Astros in the 2005 MLB Finals) for best-of-7 MLB playoff series with the smallest sum of victory margins. The sum of the victory margins in series 1251 (six runs) was the smallest ever in a best-of-7 MLB Semifinals series, breaking the previous record of seven runs in series 796 (in which the Atlanta Braves defeated the New York Mets in six games in the 1999 National League Championship Series). Of the six previous teams to win a best-of-7 MLB Semifinals series by a four-game sweep, only the 1995 Atlanta Braves went on to win the MLB Finals.

After Game 3: The Kansas City Royals hosted and bested the Baltimore Orioles 2-runs-1 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1251 lead of 3-games-nil. The Kansas City Royals now lead a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 3-games-nil for the first time; the Baltimore Orioles now trail a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 3-games-nil for the first time. The Baltimore Orioles have become the 322nd MLB/NBA/NHL team to fall behind 3-games-nil in a best-of-7 playoff series, and will now attempt to become the sixth MLB/NBA/NHL team to win the series in the wake of such dire circumstances.

After Game 2: The Kansas City Royals visited and defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-runs-4 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1251 lead of 2-games-nil. The Kansas City Royals now lead a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 2-games-nil for the first time; the Baltimore Orioles now trail a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 2-games-nil for the first time. Series 1251 has become only the second best-of-7 MLB playoff series in which a team (Kansas City) has taken a 2-games-nil lead with consecutive two-run victory margins -- the first was series 458, in which the St. Louis Cardinals did so in Kansas City in the first two games of the 1985 MLB Finals (won by the Royals in seven games).

After Game 1: The Kansas City Royals visited and defeated the Baltimore Orioles 8-runs-6 in ten innings to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1251 lead of 1-game-nil. The Kansas City Royals thus lead a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil for the first time in four tries. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Baltimore Orioles have a series record of 1-1 and a Game 2 record of 2-0. With the outcome of series 1251 Game 1, a first game of an MLB Semifinals series goes to extra innings for the third consecutive year. In the history of best-of-7 MLB Semifinals series, teams winning Game 1 on the road by two runs have a 4-3 series record.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2014 MLB regular season, the Baltimore Orioles finished seven games ahead of the Kansas City Royals. From 1905 through the 2013 MLB Finals round, when MLB teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by seven regular-season games, they have posted a best-of-7 playoff series record of 3-7 (.300) with an active three-series losing streak in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1251 is the ninth best-of-7 MLB playoff series for the Baltimore Orioles, and the fourth for the Kansas City Royals. In best-of-7 MLB playoff series, the Baltimore Orioles have an all-rounds series record of 3-5, a Semifinals-round series record of 0-2, and a Game 1 record of 6-2, while the Kansas City Royals have an all-rounds series record of 2-1, a Semifinals-round series record of 1-0, and a Game 1 record of 0-3. Series 1251 is the first best-of-7 MLB playoff series meeting between the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals. The Baltimore Orioles (31 years) and the Kansas City Royals (29 years) have endured a combined sixty years since their last MLB Finals berth -- the third-longest such total between best-of-7 format MLB Semifinals opponents, next only to the combined 64 years between the Chicago Cubs (58 years) and the Florida Marlins (six years) in the 2003 MLB Semifinals, and the combined 71 years between the Chicago Cubs (44 years) and the San Francisco Giants (27 years) in the 1989 MLB Semifinals.