ALCS Schedule 2014: Royals vs. Orioles Game 1 TV Coverage and Predictions

Both the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles looked dominant in their respective American League Division Series. Three-game sweeps of the Los Angeles Angels and the Detroit Tigers, respectively, left little drama involving the American League Championship Series matchup. With a World Series berth on the line, the two hottest teams in the AL will clash in what could be a classic series.

It feels pretty cool to know that a team that hasn't been to the Fall Classic in a long while is set to represent the Junior Circuit.

The Royals haven't been to the final series since they won it all in 1985. The Orioles haven't made it to the World Series since 1983. The drought will end for one of the squads, but which will it be?

Game 1 is Friday night in Baltimore, and here's how you can watch.

When: Friday at 8:07 p.m. ET

Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland

TV: TBS

Pitching Matchup: (KC) James Shields vs. (BAL) Chris Tillman

Orioles Keys to Victory

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Baltimore fell behind only once in their ALDS series against the Tigers, and that's a trend the team will want to continue against the Royals.

Kansas City's entire pitching staff is top notch, but it's bullpen is perhaps its best asset. Through the AL Wild Card Game and the sweep over the Angels, the Royals only allowed two runs after the sixth inning.

Led by all-world closer Greg Holland, the Royals are tough to beat late in the game. As powerful as the O's offense is, they cannot afford to have to play catch up against this team. Royals pitcher James Shield has been vulnerable to the long ball in the postseason and the regular season.

During the season, Shields gave up 23 home runs. Against the Angels in the clincher, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols took him deep. He was able to maintain from there, and the Royals wound up scoring eight runs to seal the sweep.

That said, Shields has been good against Baltimore this season. He's only allowed one home run to anyone on the O's roster this year (Nelson Cruz), and the team is hitting just .217 against him, per MLB.com.

Will Baltimore be able to strike early, often or at all?

Royals Keys to Victory

Travis Heying/Associated Press

Baltimore is explosive. The team hit more home runs than any other in the major leagues this season. The middle of the lineup can put up crooked numbers in a hurry.

Despite how resilient and tough the Royals have been late in games, they have to avoid the disastrous inning. Shields has been good at minimizing damage, even though he's allowed a good number of dingers.

He'll have to do that Friday if the Royals want to stay hot. 

The team's offense was uncharacteristically effective against the Angels. At some point, you would expect the bats to come back down to earth.

Prediction

Playing at home, the Orioles are 52-31 this season if you count the two wins in the playoffs against the Tigers. The ballpark is perfectly made for the style of team Baltimore has.

The O's also have Chris Tillman on the mound which is normally a good sign. In his only start against the Royals this season, he tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits.

Expect the Royals to try to use their speed to manufacture runs if Tillman is as tough this time around. Per MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, Royals manager Ned Yost said: "We've got to make stuff happen. We have to be aggressive on the basepaths, and we have to try to take advantage of every situation to get into scoring position. When you do that, that's upsetting to the defense, it's upsetting to the pitchers."

Will it be enough to upset the Orioles? I say no.

Look for the O's to jump on Shields early with a couple of home runs and for Tillman to cruise to victory on the strength of the early lead.