4:07 PM ET, October 11,2014
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
Associated Press
Royals Grab 2-0 Lead
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.
More from ESPN.com
David Schoenfield takes a look at five key moments from the Royals' victory over the Orioles in Game 2 of the ALCS. StoryLorenzo 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."
Royals Have History On Their Side
The
Royals are the 12th team to win the first two games of the LCS on the
road since 1985. The previous 11 times, the team that won Games 1 and 2
advanced to the World Series.| Year | Team | Opp. | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Tigers | Yankees | W 4-0 |
| 2006 | Tigers | Athletics | W 4-0 |
| 2001 | Yankees | Mariners | W 4-1 |
| 1993 | Blue Jays | White Sox | W 4-2 |
| 1990 | Athletics | Red Sox | W 4-0 |
| 1988 | Athletics | Red Sox | W 4-0 |
| *LCS became Best of 7 in 1985 | |||
| --ESPN Stats & Information | |||
"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.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Game Information
| Stadium | Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD |
| Attendance | 46,912 (102% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 4:17 |
| Weather | 57 degrees, overcast |
| Wind | 7 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Marvin Hudson, First Base - Joe West, Second Base - Ron Kulpa, Third Base - Mark Wegner |
Research Notes
Lorenzo Cain
has the 3rd 4-hit game in Royals postseason history, and the other 2
times it happened are legendary in Royals lore. Both were by George
Brett, in the clinching game of the 1985 World Series and his epic
performance in Game 3 of the 1985 ALCS.
[+] |
The
Royals are the 12th team since the LCS moved to a best-of-7 format in
1985 to win games 1 and 2 of the LCS on the road. The previous 11 have
reached the World Series.
[+] |
From Elias:
[+] |
Mike Moustakas'
fourth-inning home run was calculated at 370 feet. Three of Moustakas'
four postseason homers have been on the road and none of them would have
been home runs at Kauffman Stadium under normal weather conditions.
|
Bud Norris
allowed a .205 batting average against his changeup and slider this
season, well below the league average among qualified starters. The
Royals hit .200 against these pitches down in the zone in the regular
season. The Royals are 3-for-25 with 11 strikeouts against those pitches
in that location in the postseason.
|
Bud Norris'
average fastball had a velocity of over 93 MPH this season. Against
pitches 93 MPH or faster on the inside part of the plate or further in,
the Royals hit .242, below league average. Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon hit .231 and .239 respectively against such pitches in the regular season, both below league average.
|
Yordano Ventura
got batters to miss on 34 percent of their swings against his curveball
this season, above the league average. The Orioles hit .209 in at-bats
ending with curveballs in the regular season, below the league average.
The Orioles missed on 33.4 percent of their swings against curveballs
this season, second-most in the AL.
|
Eric Hosmer
(KC): 3rd multi-RBI game of postseason, joins Willie Aikens in 1980 as
only Royals with three games with multiple RBI in a single postseason.
|
The Orioles hit .223 with a 23 percent miss rate against fastballs thrown 95 MPH or faster in the regular season. Yordano Ventura led all starters with an average fastball velocity of 96.8 MPH. Adam Jones missed on 30 percent of his swings against fastballs of 95 MPH or faster in the regular season.
|
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