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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — James Shields led thousands of fans in a celebratory chant. Lorenzo Cain pranced along the warning track, cradling his newborn son. Ned Yost finally allowed himself to smile.
After nearly three decades spent as one of the game’s biggest laughingstocks, the Kansas City Royals are once again baseball royalty. They are headed to their first World Series since 1985, finishing a four-game sweep in the AL Championship Series with a 2-1 victory Wednesday over the Baltimore Orioles.
In a perfect postseason, the Royals are intent to relish every moment.
“It’s hard to explain,” said Cain, whose clutch hits and dramatic catches earned him the series MVP award. “We’re clicking at the right moment right now.”
There’s no doubt about that.
Now, the Royals will carry an 11-game playoff win streak into the World Series, one shy of the major league record. That includes their first eight this season, something that had never been done in postseason history. Kansas City beat Oakland in a 12-inning wild-card thriller to start things off, then swept the Los Angeles Angels in the Divisional Series.
Kansas City will open its first World Series since 1985 on Tuesday against the winner of the NLCS between the Giants and Cardinals. San Francisco leads that series 2-1.
Coincidentally, it was the Cardinals who the Royals beat for their only World Series title.
“It’s been an amazing run,” Royals outfielder Alex Gordon said. “It’s nothing better than when you win. Today, same old story: good pitching, good defense and scratch out a win.”
Same old story for the Orioles, too: Solid pitching, good defense — and just not enough offense. They managed seven hits over the last two games against Kansas City, resulting in the first sweep for the franchise in 21 postseason series.
“You saw how close the games were,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s more a testament to what they did. They were playing great defensively.”
After holding the Orioles to three hits in Game 3, Jason Vargas and the Royals bullpen held them to four hits Wednesday night. Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis got the game to Greg Holland, who matched Dennis Eckersley’s record with his fourth save of the best-of-seven series.
Holland got J.J. Hardy to ground out to third base for the final out, and the Royals spilled onto the infield in a wild celebration. Fireworks shot over the crown-shaped scoreboard in center field, and a blue-clad sellout crowd that included Royals greats George Brett and Brett Saberhagen let out a roar while cars on nearby Interstate 70 honked their horns.
“That’s what you dream of as a kid,” Holland said. “Punch your ticket to the World Series, especially before your home crowd. These fans have been waiting a long time. They deserve it.”
The Orioles, meanwhile, will limp into the offseason after a 96-win season in which they overcame injuries and suspensions to several key players along the way.
“I think it’s not what we didn’t do. It’s more what they did,” said the Orioles’ Ryan Flaherty, whose home run represented their lone run. “We played good baseball.”
Making his first start in nearly two weeks, Vargas shut down the vaunted Orioles lineup in Game 4. The only damage he allowed came in the third inning, when Flaherty went deep.
By that point, the Royals had already manufactured a pair of runs.
Alcides Escobar singled off Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez to open the game, and Nori Aoki was drilled on the right knee a couple pitches later. Yost then opted to bunt with Cain, one of his hottest hitters, to advance both of the runners.
It was a questionable decision so early in the game. But like almost every unorthodox move that Yost has made, it worked out perfectly — for the first sacrifice of Cain’s career.
Eric Hosmer followed with a chopping groundball, and first baseman Steve Pearce went home with it. Escobar slid safely and the ball bounded away from catcher Caleb Joseph, allowing Aoki to follow his teammate home and giving the scrappy, small-ball Royals a 2-0 lead.
After that, it was up to their defense and bullpen.
Escobar turned a pair of double plays early in the game to help Vargas escape jams, and Gordon made a spectacular catch while crashing into the left-field wall to rob Hardy of extra bases leading off the fifth inning. In the sixth, second baseman Omar Infante was in perfect position to snag Nelson Cruz’s line drive and leave runners on the corners.
Herrera breezed through the seventh and Davis handled the eighth, just as they have all season, and Holland slammed the door on his fourth save of the series.
And set off of a raucous celebration that had been 29 years in the making.
In the midst of it all was Yost, the often-criticized Royals manager who has guided a collection of budding young stars to baseball’s grandest stage. In doing so, Yost became the first manager in major league history to win his first eight postseason games.
Now, just four more wins stand in the way of an improbable World Series championship.
“These guys are willing to play selfless baseball where all they’re concentrating on is winning the game,” Yost said. “Nobody is looking to be a hero right now, they’re just looking to win a ballgame, and they’ve done a tremendous job.”
TIGHT GAMES
The Royals’ win was the 14th decided by one run this postseason, topping the record set in 2011 and tied last year. That includes the last two games of the ALCS.
STACKING UP
Kansas City did well this season against both potential World Series opponents.
The Royals swept a three-game series from the visiting Giants in August, beating Madison Bumgarner, Tim Hudson and Tim Lincecum. KC hasn’t played at San Francisco since 2005.
The Royals went 3-1 against St. Louis, sweeping two games at Busch Stadium and splitting back at Kauffman Stadium.
UP NEXT
Royals: The Royals are in the World Series for the third time in franchise history. “It’s been incredible to watch,” said Saberhagen, one of the star pitchers on the `85 title team.
Orioles: It’s on to the offseason for a team that overcame a series of injuries (Matt Wieters, Manny Machado) and suspensions (Chris Davis) to reach the ALCS. Baltimore still has not made it back to the World Series since 1983.
— Associated Press —
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mike Moustakas had his eye on the ball from the moment it left Adam Jones’ bat, tracking it against the bright lights of Kauffman Stadium. When it settled into his glove and he tumbled into a dugout suite, a dozen fans were waiting to pick him right back up.
Just like Moustakas has picked up his team during its perfect postseason.
The third baseman with the four playoff homers dazzled with his glove Tuesday night. And when Billy Butler drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, the long-downtrodden Kansas City Royals were on their way to a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles and a commanding 3-0 lead in their American League Championship Series.
“It really did fire up the whole stadium,” Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said of his teammate’s circus catch. “Hats off to the fans in the dugout suite, pick him up and put him back on the field. That was great. ‘Moose’ finding ways to get it done.”
The entire team has found ways to get it done. The wild-card Royals have won 10 straight postseason games, including all seven this year in their first playoff appearance in 29 years.
The only thing that has slowed Kansas City so far was a rainout Monday.
“We’ve got a snowball effect going right now,” Butler said. “The confidence couldn’t be any higher. That’s when you come to the park each day, focus on the next pitch, focus on your job and just not be the guy to end the streak.”
Fresh off a combined three-hitter, Kansas City will send Jason Vargas to the mound for Game 4 on Wednesday, trying to advance to its first World Series since 1985. Miguel Gonzalez will go to the mound for the Orioles.
“It’s hard to take advantage of mistakes when they’re not making any,” Orioles first baseman Steve Pearce said. “This is tough, man. We’ve got one loss left. We’ve got to find a way to start pulling this out. We got to find somebody to get it done.”
The Orioles are the 34th team to trail 3-0 in a best-of-seven major league postseason series. The only team to come back and win was the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees, according to STATS.
“It’s been done before, so that gives you a chance,” Jones said. “We’ve won four games before. Obviously, not in this situation. But we’ve won four games, four games, four games. So start tomorrow, start in the first inning and get some runs on the board.”
The Royals’ Jeremy Guthrie and Orioles’ Wei-Yin Chen hooked up in a tense pitching duel for five innings Tuesday night, and the game was still 1-all when Chen gave up a leadoff single to Nori Aoki in the sixth. Hosmer followed with a one-out single to put runners on the corners, and Orioles manager Buck Showalter brought in hard-throwing reliever Kevin Gausman.
Butler greeted him with a fly ball to left field for the tiebreaking run — just the latest example of Kansas City doing all the little things right.
One of the best bullpens in baseball took care of the rest.
Winning pitcher Jason Frasor breezed through the sixth, and Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis nailed down the next two innings. Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth for his third save of the series, setting off a wild celebration in the stands.
In all, Kansas City pitchers retired the final 16 batters.
It was the 13th game to be decided by one run this postseason, matching the record set in 2011 and tied last year. Six games have gone to extra innings, including the Giants’ 5-4, 10-inning victory over the Cardinals hours earlier in the National League Championship Series.
“I wish I didn’t have so much stake in it,” Showalter said dryly. “I’d probably enjoy watching both teams play more than I do.”
After failing to take the lead in the first two games of the series, Baltimore managed to strike first this night, temporarily silencing a frigid, flag-waving capacity crowd.
It happened in the second inning, when Pearce and J.J. Hardy hit back-to-back doubles for a 1-0 lead. Guthrie wiggled out of the jam, though, and grinded through five innings against his former team in his first start since Sept. 26.
Chen matched him pitch for pitch until the fourth, when the Royals put together one of their quintessential innings: a pair of bloop singles, a walk and a tying RBI groundout.
The Royals played catch up with their gloves, too.
Moustakas made a diving grab to rob Pearce of a single in the fourth. Then in the sixth, he tracked that popup by Jones into foul territory, steadied himself at a railing near the dugout, then extended himself to catch the ball and tumbled into the stands.
“They were both tremendous plays,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
The blue-clad crowd rose to its feet to give Moustakas a rousing cheer, and many fans were still standing when Butler drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom half of the inning.
By the time the Royals’ big three of Herrera, Davis and Holland had closed it out, the Royals were on the verge of another postseason sweep.
“We’ve got to zone in on the task at hand,” Holland said. “They’re not going to lay down. We understand that.”
STATS AND STREAKS
Orioles DH Nelson Cruz had his streak of six straight multihit playoff games end. He was 0-for-4. … Pearce had been 0-for-9 in the series before his double in the second inning.
UP NEXT
Orioles: Gonzalez has not started since his final regular-season outing Sept. 28. “I’m going to try as best as possible to give our team a chance,” he said.
Royals: Vargas also has had a long stretch without a start, last taking the hill against the Angels in Game 1 of AL Division Series on Oct. 2. “I’ll be ready to go,” he said.
— Associated Press —
HUTCHINSON, KS — The No. 5-ranked Hutchinson Community College football team took another major step toward a Jayhawk Conference championship on Saturday night, scoring the game’s first 35 points as the Blue Dragons rolled past Garden City 44-14 at Gowans Stadium.
The Blue Dragons start the season 7-0 for the first time since 2010 and for the fifth time in team history. HCC is now 5-0 in the Jayhawk Conference to move closer to its first league championship since 1995. Garden City falls to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the Jayhawk Conference.
Hutchinson extends its series-best win streak against the Broncbusters to seven-straight games.
Freshman running back Alvin Kamara went over 1,000 yards for the season and scored three more touchdowns to lead a Hutchinson offense that had the ball nine fewer minutes than Garden City, but rolled up 457 yards total offense to 321 for the Busters.
Defensively, the Blue Dragons forced a season-high six takeaways (three fumbles, three interceptions); including a season-high six quarterback sacks, 16 tackles for loss and one safety. Hutchinson held a fifth-straight opponent to less than 100 yards rushing, limiting Garden City to 45 yards on 40 carries.
Kamara led an HCC ground game that amassed 240 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry. He became Hutchinson’s 17th 1,000-yard rusher and moved past Leonard Brice and Chris Anderson into 15th place on HCC’s single-season rushing list with 1,040 yards. Kamara went over 1,000 yards with a 40-yard jaunt late in the first half.
Kamara finished the game with a game-high 132 yards on just 11 carries and three touchdowns. It was his seventh-straight 100-yard game. Kamara now has 14 touchdowns in the last four games and 18 for the season.
Running back Bradan Smith rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries. Running back Travis Custis had 39 yards on eight carries, but tallied a career-best 100 receiving yards on just two receptions, including a 57-yard touchdown catch and run. Custis scored two touchdowns. Sophomore Bryce Harvey had a team-high five catches for 41 yards.
HCC’s quarterbacks combined for 217 yards and each threw a touchdown pass. Dalton Demos was 8 of 16 for 114 yards. Kylen Binn was 8 of 17 for 105 yards.
Kyle Wilson led the Dragons defensively with eight tackles. Jeremiah Ledbetter and Marquavius Lewis had two quarterback sacks each. Darius Wright, Lakel Bass and Riley Hunsicker all had interceptions, while Wright, Jarrod Sanders and Leslie Maruo had fumble recoveries.
Things started very quickly for the Blue Dragons. After Wright intercepted a Denarious Graham pass 19 yards to the Garden City 6, Kamara toted the ball two times and was into the end zone from 2 yards out just 1 minute, 9 seconds into the game for a 7-0 lead.
Two possessions later, Kamara broke containment again and sprinted 65 yards for a touchdown to give HCC a 14-0 lead with 5:08 to play in the first quarter. The Dragons had the ball just 2:59 of the opening period and led by 14 points.
Bass had an interception at the HCC 8 to stop a Buster threat. The Dragons marched 92 yards in six plays. Custis took a screen pass from Binn and weaved his way into open field and sprinted 57 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 Blue Dragon lead with 11:46 remaining in the half.
Demos connected with tight end John Gilbertson for a 7-yard touchdown and Kamara scored his third touchdown of the game with 4:48 to play to give HCC a 35-0 lead.
Leading 35-7, the Blue Dragons added nine third-quarter points. Maruo chased down Garden City punter Dequan Davis in the end zone for HCC’s second safety of the season. Later, Custis scored his second touchdown of the game on a 17-yard run for a 44-7 lead.
Garden City got a pair of Brandon Snell touchdown receptions of 5 and 11 yards for its only to scores of the game. Snell had six catches for 102 yards and Monterio Burchfield had seven receptions for 122 yards. Graham was 17 of 33 for 251 yards with one touchdown, three interceptions and was sacked seven times.
The Blue Dragons will play host to the Highland Scotties at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Gowans Stadium.
GAME NOTES – HCC head coach Rion Rhaodes tied Bill Goldsmith for third place on HCC’s all-times games coached list with 85. … HCC is now 36-37 overall vs. Garden City, including 18-15 in games played in Hutchinson. … Alvin Kamara tied Terrell Lane for third place on both the single-season touchdowns and points scored list with 18 and 108, respectively. … This was HCC’s seventh-straight game with at least 400 yards of total offense. … The Blue Dragons have had at least one interception in 15 consecutive games.
(HCC Sports Information)
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Kansas City Royals prefer to simply savor their exceptional performance at Camden Yards rather than ponder the historical ramifications of where it’s gotten them.
Alcides Escobar doubled in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, Mike Moustakas extended his home run-binge and Kansas City remained perfect in the playoffs, beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 Saturday for a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series.
Now, the Royals head back to Kansas City with the knowledge that no team has ever lost a best-of-seven LCS after winning the first two games on the road.
“We don’t want to be the first team to do that,” designated hitter Billy Butler said. “That’s all I get from that.”
Lorenzo Cain had four hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the wild-card Royals, who are 6-0 in the playoffs this year, including 4-0 on the road. The Orioles hadn’t lost two in a row in Baltimore since June 28-29, but Kansas City found a way to quiet the towel-waving, screaming crowds.
“The atmosphere here is great. It didn’t affect us,” Butler said. “Now we’ll go home and see if they can play in our atmosphere.”
Moustakas homered for the fourth time in five games as the Royals won their ninth straight in the postseason, a string dating to the 1985 World Series.
“To come in here and win two games against a great team like that, it’s huge for us,” Moustakas said. “A lot of confidence going back home.”
Game 3 is Monday at Kauffman Stadium. Former Oriole Jeremy Guthrie will start for the Royals against either Wei-Yin Chen or Miguel Gonzalez.
“We know they’re a good team,” Royals closer Greg Holland said after earning his second save of the series. “You can’t really get too high on yourself.”
The Orioles and manager Buck Showalter’s team now must buck history to get Baltimore its first pennant since 1983.
“If one team can do it, it’s us,” slugger Nelson Cruz said.
“The series ain’t over,” insisted Adam Jones, who hit his first playoff home run. “If you guys (are) thinking it’s over, why are we going to show up on Monday?”
After squeezing out an 8-6 win in 10 innings on Friday night, the Royals again took apart the Baltimore bullpen with a late uprising.
With the score tied at 4 in the ninth, Omar Infante beat out an infield roller off Darren O’Day, the losing pitcher for the second straight day.
Zach Britton entered, and Moustakas laid down a bunt that moved pinch-runner Terrance Gore to second. Escobar then sliced an opposite-field grounder inside first base to bring home Gore.
Cain added an RBI single to become the only Royals player other than Hall of Famer George Brett to have a four-hit game in the postseason.
For the second time in two games, Wade Davis earned the win and Holland got three outs for the save. Holland struck out Steve Pearce with a runner on to end it.
“If you could go home 1-1, you’re going to be really, really happy,” manager Ned Yost said. “If you can go home 2-0, that’s as good as it gets.”
Baltimore’s Bud Norris allowed four runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. Royals rookie Yordano Ventura left in the sixth with tightness in his right shoulder after giving up four runs and six hits.
“He’s fine,” Yost said. “I don’t anticipate him missing this next start.”
Moustakas, the No. 9 hitter, hit a solo homer that put Kansas City up 4-3 in the fourth. Although he homered only once in the last 49 games of the regular season, Moustakas now stands tied with Willie Aikens for most homers by a Royals player in a single postseason.
“Getting good pitches to hit and not missing them,” he said. “That’s pretty much it.”
UP NEXT
Royals: Guthrie says his emotion Monday will come from competing in the playoffs, not pitching against his former team. “I think history will be put, not even on a back burner, but on some kind of … Lazy Susan or something,” said Guthrie, who’s 2-1 against Baltimore since being traded in February 2012.
Orioles: Baltimore went 46-35 on the road this season and clinched the Division Series with a 2-1 win at Detroit.
STREAKS
Royals: Kansas City began its postseason winning streak by taking three straight from St. Louis to win the 1985 World Series. The Royals beat Oakland in the wild-card game this year, then swept the Los Angeles Angels in the ALDS.
Orioles: Cruz had his sixth consecutive multihit game, the longest streak in postseason history. The run began in 2012. Also, Joseph snapped an 0-for-33 skid with his first hit since Sept. 10.
GORDON’S ENCORE
One day after going 3 for 4 with a homer and four RBIs, Kansas City’s Alex Gordon struck out four times and stranded four runners in scoring position.
He accounted for half of KC’s strikeout total.
— Associated Press —
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BALTIMORE (AP) — These Kansas City Royals, and Alex Gordon in particular, are way more than just speed and singles.
Especially in extra innings.
Gordon hit a tiebreaking homer in the 10th inning, Mike Moustakas added a two-run shot and the Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 8-6 Friday night in the opener of the AL Championship Series.
Earlier, Gordon doubled in three runs, was picked off first base, made a great catch in left field and got hit in the neck with a pitch.
But his most memorable moment came when he lined a pitch from Darren O’Day into the right-field seats. That was enough to provide the Royals with their fourth extra-inning victory in five games this postseason.
As the ball soared over the wall, O’Day flung his cap to the ground in frustration.
Moustakas followed with another shot to right, this one off Brian Matusz with a runner on.
This best-of-seven series was billed as Kansas City’s speed against Baltimore’s power, but the Royals didn’t steal a base and hit all of the game’s three home runs.
The Orioles tried to rally in the 10th. Pinch-hitter Delmon Young hit an RBI single with two outs, but closer Greg Holland retired Nick Markakis on a grounder with two runners on for the final out in the rain shortly before 1 a.m.
Game 2 is Saturday afternoon. Rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura makes his second postseason start for the Royals against Bud Norris.
Wade Davis got the win with two shutout innings and Holland got a save.
The fastest team in the majors nearly walked to victory in the ninth. After Orioles closer Zach Britton issued three straight walks to open the inning, Eric Hosmer into a force at the plate — helped by catcher Nick Hundley’s nifty pickup at the plate — and O’Day got Billy Butler to hit into a double play.
O’Day wasn’t nearly as effective in the 10th.
Down 5-1 in the fifth against James Shields, the Orioles scored three times as 47,124 towel-waving fans cheered them on. Nelson Cruz hit an RBI double before Ryan Flaherty delivered a two-out, two-run single.
Shields made it out of the inning, but did not return after giving up four runs and 10 hits.
The rain that was expected for much of the day finally made an appearance in the sixth, shortly before Baltimore pulled even against the usually reliable Kansas City bullpen. The tying run scored off Kelvin Herrera on a low popup by Alejandro De Aza that dropped behind the mound.
The Royals’ frustration showed in the seventh, when pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson complained about being called out at second on an attempted steal before Lorenzo Cain and Butler fumed over called third strikes.
Early on, Kansas City dominated.
After the Orioles left the bases loaded in the second inning, Alcides Escobar drove a 2-0 pitch from Chris Tillman into the left-field seats for the game’s first run. It was his 22nd homer in 2,994 career at-bats, including this postseason.
Kansas City then sandwiched two singles around a four-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs for Gordon, who lofted a broken-bat fly that landed about four feet inside the right-field foul line for a three-run double.
Orioles first baseman Steve Pearce, who couldn’t get a grip on a bouncing throw from shortstop J.J. Hardy earlier in the inning, clutched the top of his cap in dismay as the ball plopped into fair territory.
Gordon also hit a three-run double in the finale of Kansas City’s three-game sweep of the Angels in the Division Series.
Baltimore got an RBI single from Adam Jones in the bottom half, but a diving catch by Gordon prevented further damage. Shields thrust his arm in the air and pointed to Gordon, a Gold Glove winner in each of the past three years.
A sacrifice fly by Butler in the fifth made it 5-1.
UP NEXT
Royals: In two starts against the Orioles this season, Ventura has a 1.26 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 14 1-3 innings.
Orioles: Baltimore tries to rebound from its first loss since Sept. 27. The last time the Orioles lost the opener of an ALCS game was when 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier got involved with a Derek Jeter home run at Yankee Stadium in 1996.
LIGHTS OUT
The start of the game was delayed while the bright lights above a TV booth in center field were shut down, one by one.
Escobar was about the step into the batter’s box when he noticed the glaring bulbs in his sight line. While Tillman took a few extra warmup tosses, the song “Lights” by Journey played over the PA system.
— Associated Press —
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Almost an hour had passed, and the postgame party had moved from the field to the Kansas City clubhouse, where victory champagne was once again flowing. Yet as sheets of rain fell at Kauffman Stadium, thousands of celebrating Royals fans refused to leave.
They had waited 29 years to soak in moments like these.
”This is a special time in the city right now and they’re enjoying this as much as we are,” winning pitcher James Shields said. ”This is the best atmosphere I’ve ever been a part of.”
Alex Gordon hit a bases-clearing double in the first inning, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas each homered and the wild-card Royals finished off a three-game sweep of the mighty Los Angeles Angels with an emphatic 8-3 victory Sunday night in the AL Division Series.
The scrappy team with the unorthodox manager, popgun offense, dynamic defense and lights-out bullpen will open the AL Championship Series against the Orioles beginning Friday night in Baltimore. Kansas City went 4-3 against the O’s this year.
”I’ve never seen this group of kids so confident on the big stage,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”It’s really fun to see their development and watch them come into the postseason and just really take their game to the next level.”
The power-hitting Angels, 98-64 in the regular season, became the second team in the divisional era that began in 1969 to have the best record in the majors and get swept out of the playoffs, STATS said. In no small coincidence, the Royals dealt the same humiliating fate to the New York Yankees in the 1980 ALCS.
Stalking around the mound amid an electric atmosphere, Shields lived up to his ”Big Game James” billing. The Royals’ ace gave up homers toMike Trout and Albert Pujols, but otherwise held in check a suddenly punchless Los Angeles lineup
Shields was helped, too, by diving grabs by center fielder Lorenzo Cain on back-to-back plays. All told, the highest-scoring team in baseball managed six runs in the entire series.
”Anything happens in the playoffs,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ”You don’t go in with any badge saying you won the most games, and you’re certainly not going to get any points for that going into the playoffs.”
Kansas City showcased great glovework in every game, especially by its fleet outfielders. In this one, Cain’s catches in the fifth inning preserved a five-run lead.
The Royals coasted the rest of the way to their seventh straight postseason victory dating to Game 5 of the 1985 World Series, the last time they were in the playoffs. George Brett, the star of that team, watched from an upstairs suite and raised his arms when ace closer Greg Holland fanned Trout for the final out.
”We feel like we belong,” Cain said, ”that we can play with anyone.”
The Royals are certainly proving it.
Kansas City played a 12-inning thriller against Oakland in the wild-card game, and a pair of 11-inning games in Los Angeles before returning home to a raucous, adoring crowd.
Trout staked his team to a first-inning lead, but Angels starter C.J. Wilson quickly got into trouble. The left-hander with the $16 million price tag this season gave up consecutive singles and a four-pitch walk in the bottom half to load the bases for Gordon, whose slicing two-out double gave Kansas City a 3-1 lead.
Sensing the game already slipping away, Scioscia immediately marched to the mound and turned the game over to his bullpen. It didn’t fare a whole lot better.
The Royals kept the pressure on, and even plodding designated hitter Billy Butler got in on the act, stealing second base to another roar. It was his fifth career steal and first in two years, but it typified the way the Royals have been winning this postseason.
Dazzling pitching, daring baserunning and some dogged determination.
”They were just up there trying to put the ball in play,” Wilson said. ”Then they went into damage mode and started swinging for homers. They’re hot right now. That’s what happens.”
After swiping seven bases and playing small-ball against the A’s, the club that hit the fewest homers in the regular season pounded out four long balls against Los Angeles.
Moustakas hit the first of them in the 11th inning of the opener, Hosmer hit the second in the 11th inning the next night, and both of them went deep to finish off the sweep.
Hosmer’s two-run shot came in the third inning. Moustakas connected in the fourth.
By that point, the Angels – their high-priced offense having fizzled and pitching having failed them – were slumped over the railing of their dugout. They spent the final five innings bundled up against the October chill, periods of rain making their night miserable.
But hardly putting a damper on thousands of Royals fans.
”Everyone knows how long it’s been since we’ve been in the postseason, and you can tell because of all these people out here,” Hosmer said. ”They’ve got our backs on every pitch, and we’re feeding off the energy. To do this in front of our home crowd, it couldn’t be any better than coming and celebrating with all these people out here.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals RHP Kelvin Herrera pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He left Thursday night’s series opener after five pitches with a strained forearm.
UP NEXT
The Orioles beat Detroit 2-1 on Sunday to finish off their series sweep. They are back in the ALCS for the first time since 1997.
