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 —

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 —

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 —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — (AP) The Kansas City Royals waited nearly three decades to return to the postseason. Now that they’re here, they want to stick around for a while.

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 quirky 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 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, James Shields lived up to his “Big Game James” billing. The Royals’ ace gave up homers to Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, but otherwise held in check a suddenly punchless Los Angeles lineup

Shields was helped, too, by a pair of 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.”

As for the Royals, “they’re going to be a team tough to beat in this tournament,” he said.

Kansas City showed off great glovework in every game, especially by its fleet outfielders. In this one, Cain’s catches in the fifth inning ended an Angels’ rally and 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.

This bunch of Royals is certainly making up for all that lost time.

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 an adoring crowd at Kauffman Stadium.

This one had none of the drama, not that anybody wearing blue cared.

After Trout staked his team to the lead, 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 first inning 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 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 the roar of the crowd. 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.

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 Royals fans that have waited 29 years for these moments.

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, who beat Detroit 2-1 on Sunday to finish off their series sweep, are in the ALCS for the first time since 1997.

— Associated Press —

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning, and the surprising Kansas City Royals took a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series with a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

Alex Gordon had an early run-scoring single and Salvador Perez added an RBI infield single in the 11th for the Royals, who became the first team in major league history to win three straight extra-inning playoff games.

In its first postseason appearance since 1985, Kansas City’s playoff roll just can’t be slowed by the majors’ best regular-season team. Hosmer had three hits and scored two runs as the Royals moved to the brink of the AL Championship Series.

Game 3 in the best-of-five series is Sunday in Kansas City, where Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson faces James Shields.

After 10 innings of intense, pitching-dominated baseball, the Royals broke out. Lorenzo Cain beat out a one-out infield single off losing pitcher Kevin Jepsen, and Hosmer smacked a no-doubt homer to right field, setting off a celebration for several dozen blue-clad fans in a sea of red at the Big A.

Albert Pujols had a tying RBI single in the sixth for the Angels, but the majors’ most productive offense has been mostly helpless against the Royals. Los Angeles, which led the big leagues with 98 wins, has just 10 hits and three runs in 22 innings.

Mike Trout got a chance to help in the 11th after second baseman Omar Infante made a throwing error on Kole Calhoun’s two-out grounder. But the AL MVP favorite struck out against Greg Holland, finishing his second straight 0-for-4 night in his first playoff series.

Only two teams since 1995 have rallied to win a division series after losing the first two games at home.

Kansas City’s cardiac kids have put an unlikely charge into October. The Royals are the first team to play in three consecutive extra-inning playoff games since the 1980 NLCS between Houston and Philadelphia, which had four straight.

They followed up their 12-inning wild-card victory over Oakland with a series-opening win on Mike Moustakas’ 11th-inning homer, and Hosmer kept it going with his decisive homer one night later.

Brandon Finnegan pitched a hitless 10th for the Royals, and the 21-year-old rookie earned the win. Greg Holland worked the 11th for his second save of the series.

In a matchup of impressive rookie starters, Yordano Ventura pitched five-hit ball for the Royals, and Matt Shoemaker threw six innings of five-hit ball for Los Angeles.

Ventura’s fastball was clocked at 102 mph in the second inning, and he was still hitting triple digits in the seventh. He escaped jams twice in the late innings, stranding three runners.

Shoemaker also was sharp in his playoff debut after a breakthrough 16-win regular season. The Angels’ 28-year-old rookie had six strikeouts while pitching for the first time since straining an oblique muscle on Sept. 15.

The Royals took an early lead for the second straight night when Hosmer singled, advanced on Calhoun’s error in right field and scored on Gordon’s single in the second inning.

After Ventura retired 10 straight in the early innings, the Angels evened it in the sixth with a two-out rally. After Calhoun singled and Trout walked, Pujols drove a 100 mph fastball to right for the first hit of his first postseason with Los Angeles.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez was hit in the head by Josh Hamilton’s backswing in the fifth inning. Perez, the hero of Kansas City’s wild-card playoff victory over Oakland, stayed in the game after a long moment on the ground.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Kelvin Herrera has a flexor strain in his right forearm after throwing just five pitches in Game 1. The reliever will be re-evaluated when the teams get to Kansas City.

Angels: Hamilton went 0 for 4 with a double-play grounder to end the 10th, dropping to 0 for 9 in his first playoff series with Los Angeles. The slugger played just once in the final 22 games of the regular season due to upper-body injuries.

UP NEXT

Shields started the Royals’ wild-card playoff win Tuesday, so he’ll be on normal rest. Los Angeles is hoping for solid work from the up-and-down Wilson.

— Associated Press —