BALTIMORE – The air was thick with the aroma of cigar smoke and alcohol in the Kansas City Royals’ visiting clubhouse at Camden Yards on Wednesday night when Tommy Pham, a seasoned player with five playoff experiences, peeked out.

After six days and two celebrations in champagne – with more festivities anticipated – Pham expressed pride in his young teammates, many of whom are hardly old enough to drink legally.

“They’re really good at popping bottles now!” Pham observed, as the celebration continued into the night, transforming the infield into a dance party.

These joyous moments are the fruits of October greatness, although it’s important to note that the Royals haven’t fully arrived just yet. Coming off a season of 106 losses, Kansas City introduced the right mix of experienced players during the offseason and trade deadline, finished with 86 wins, secured a wild-card berth, and has now achieved what every team hopes for at this time of year.

There’s just one catch.

They eliminated the 91-win Baltimore Orioles in a tightly contested two-game playoff series at Camden Yards, concluding with a narrow 2-1 win on Wednesday, propelling them to the American League Division Series for the first time since 2015.

Next stop: Yankee Stadium.

The first game of the ALDS is set for Saturday night, which will likely see reigning AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole facing off against veteran right-hander Michael Wacha. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto will be key players in the opposing line-up, supported by over 50,000 fans eager for a championship.

However, the Royals have their share of challenges ahead.

While the Royals didn’t dazzle with high-tech stats during their two games in Baltimore, perhaps that was intentional. They registered just three runs over 18 innings, winning Game 1 1-0, managing only one extra-base hit in the entire series, and relying on a six-pitcher strategy to handle the powerful but oft-overanxious Orioles lineup.

But this strategy works perfectly well in the playoffs, especially with the dynamic Bobby Witt Jr. stepping up during crucial moments.

Witt essentially won both games with key sixth-inning singles, including one in Game 2 that came with two outs, runners at the corners, and 38,698 fans on edge at Camden Yards.

Witt hit a grounder up the middle, and second baseman Jordan Westburg executed a stunning diving catch. He attempted to recover quickly, but with MLB’s fastest runner racing towards him, he fumbled, failing to throw it in time.

Witt beat the throw. Kyle Isbel crossed the plate with the decisive run. The Royals held their ground.

Witt’s exceptional week began with an RBI hit in Game 1 and continued with a largely underrated play in Game 2, where he advanced teammate Michael Massey—who had doubled at the start of the inning—to third base after grounding out to second.

Vinnie Pasquantino followed up with a timely RBI single, putting the Royals up 1-0 and making the already anxious Camden Yards crowd even more uneasy due to Baltimore’s long playoff losing streak.

Witt, an All-Star, garnered attention for his 32 home runs and his major-league topping .332 batting average along with stellar defense. The Royals are thriving in the playoffs for many reasons beyond Witt’s contributions, even though his key plays won’t necessarily evoke thoughts of “instant classics.”

Yet, this means little to the Royals.

“This is how baseball should be played,” declared Pasquantino, who returned from a five-week sidelining due to thumb surgery and resumed his regular No. 3 place in the batting order this series. “You can rave about Bobby all you want. His play to advance the runner to third base for me is the best play in baseball.”

“It made my job simple, and I was able to get it done. Now it’s on to New York.”

Witt’s game-changing single in Game 1 might have been just an 88-mph floater to left, and his sacrifice in Game 2 was even less aggressive, clocking in at 68 mph.

“Forgive the language, but that doesn’t matter,” Pasquantino remarked, dodging champagne spews in the jubilant clubhouse. “What counts is scoring runs, and we did that. Who cares about metrics like exit velocity?”

“Launch angle? Keep that away from me. We need to put runs on the board. That’s what’s truly important. Sorry for the outburst.”

‘Hustle and heart’

No need for apologies. The Royals, alongside the AL Central rival Detroit Tigers, are crafting a remarkable narrative this postseason, and it’s understandable if they believe they’ve already made their mark.

“I keep saying, we didn’t come this far just to stop here, so we’re going to keep pushing and creating our own legacy,” Witt stated. “It’s truly special to witness the transformation of this team from last year to this year, and now we must keep it going.”

At this stage, it’s hard to envision this team, once mired in 106 losses, slipping back, especially with the additions of veteran pitchers like Wacha and Seth Lugo, who significantly bolstered a rotation that now offers substantial depth and a potent strikeout capability.

In Game 2, Lugo remained his usual perplexing self, using nine distinct pitches during his trademark 12-pitch inning.

Lugo managed to strike out six batters through the fifth inning. However, after Cedric Mullins hit a home run to level the score at 1-1, he quickly put the bases in jeopardy due to a walk, a single, and an error of his own.

He focused and managed to get 44-home run hitter Anthony Santander to pop out, then handed over the mound to left-handed reliever Angel Zerpa.

The 25-year-old Venezuelan experienced a bit of luck when he struck out Colton Cowser with a pitch that could easily have been called a ball, and then got Adley Rutschman to ground out to shortstop, leaving the bases loaded and the game tied.

Witt’s crucial hit came shortly after.

“This really reflects our whole season—hustle and heart,” Lugo commented. “I’m really proud of Witt for stepping up like he has all year.”

Yet, there was still a significant challenge ahead: Manager Matt Quatraro required the bullpen to secure 14 outs. The relievers executed their task flawlessly, not allowing a single runner to reach second base.

This is the essence of playoff baseball.

“We brought Zerpa into a crucial moment of his career, and he delivered two vital outs to stop the momentum,” Quatraro mentioned. “It’s impressive to see these guys have confidence in themselves, trust their abilities, and go after some of the top hitters in the game.”

Zerpa was followed by John Schreiber, Sammy Long, Kris Bubic, and closer Lucas Erceg, who secured both games and wrapped this one up with a strikeout of Gunnar Henderson.

The Royals gathered on the mound for hugs but opted out of any dogpiling, keeping the focus on the upcoming challenges. The celebrations in the clubhouse were more boisterous.

“We might have made it more intense than we would have preferred,” Pasquantino admitted. “As an offense, we need to improve because we want to create more separation and give our pitchers some breathing room. We aim to perform better offensively.”

“However, it was sufficient for this series. We just want to keep improving and be ready for Saturday night.”

‘The bats are coming’

Pham is eager. He had an impressive run that took him all the way to Game 5 of the 2023 World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, highlighted by a perfect 4-for-4 performance.

This Royals team isn’t quite firing on all offensive cylinders yet. But there’s still time for that to develop and combine with their outstanding pitching staff, as the veterans gel with Witt and the other emerging talents on this increasingly formidable team.

“It all comes down to pitching, defense, and timely hitting. We have players who can provide length, and our starters are going deep into games,” Pham remarked. “The bats are on the verge of coming alive. Once we hit our stride, we’re going to surge.”

As for the inexperienced squad gearing up to face Yankee Stadium?

“I’ll definitely prepare a strong speech,” he assured.