The Kansas City Royals shocked the Baltimore Orioles by coming in and beating them at home in Game 1 of the ALCS last night. History would repeat itself again, in almost similar fashion, with the game tied in the 9th inning and the momentum on the Royals side. The outcome? The Royals ended the game with the 6-4 win on the road, extending their post-season winning streak to six.
Kansas City started the game gunning, scoring in the very 1st inning, when Eric Hosmer brought Norichika Aoki and Lorenzo Cain home after a blooper to left. By the third inning, the lead would increase to 3-1 thanks to a Billy Butler double that would bring Cain home again, all the way from second base.
The Orioles would strike back in the bottom of the third, though. With Alejandro De Aza on second, Adam Jones took to the plate and jacked one out of the park, tying the game at 3.
Then Mike Moustakas sent one out of the park in the 4th, giving the Royals a 4-3 lead and tacking on his 4th HR of the post-season so far.
The Orioles would score in the 5th and held on to the tie game going into the 9th inning. Baltimore had a chance to go up big in the 7th when they had the bases loaded, but they left everyone on base. Cain came up with another defensive play in that outing, sprinting towards a catch that would have been fair and possibly cleared everyone on base if it would have dropped.
In the top of the 9th, the Royals looked to capitalize on opportunities when Alcides Escobar doubled down the right field line, bringing in Terrance Gore and putting the Royals up 5-4 in the clutch. Two batters later, Cain would single to left and bring in another run, which eventually sealed the victory on the road for Kansas City with the 6-4 win.
Today’s loss gives the Orioles their first back-to-back losses since June.
The Royals now become the 4th team in the history of the MLB to start a series 6-0, winning every single game they have played in the post season.
Game 3 will be played in Kansas City at 8:07 EST.