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Royals beat Angels 4-1 in 11, lead ALDS 2-0

kc-royalsANAHEIM, 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.

Moustakas’ HR in 11th Puts Royals Past Angels, 3-2

kc-royalsANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Moustakas homered leading off the 11th inning, and the Kansas City Royals kept rolling in their first postseason in 29 years with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in the AL Division Series opener Thursday night.

Moustakas hit the first extra-inning homer in postseason history for the Royals, a high shot off Fernando Salas that barely reached the elevated right-field stands at Angel Stadium.

Alcides Escobar had an early RBI double for the Royals, and their bullpen repeatedly escaped trouble in Kansas City’s first game since that spectacular, 12-inning comeback victory over Oakland in the wild-card playoff Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Game 2 in the best-of-five series is Friday night at the Big A, with Angels 16-game winner Matt Shoemaker taking on fellow rookie Yordano Ventura.

Ibanez off KC’s ALDS Roster; Pestano in for Angels

kc-royalsANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Raul Ibanez has been left off the Kansas City Royals’ 25-man roster for the AL Division Series.

Ibanez wasn’t included on the roster submitted Thursday before the series opener against the Los Angeles Angels. The 42-year-old began this season with the Angels, who released him in June.

Former Angels reliever Scott Downs and infielder Jayson Nix also were left off the Royals’ roster, while left-hander Tim Collins made the cut.

Los Angeles chose reliever Vinny Pestano over Joe Thatcher, who hasn’t pitched well since his return from a sprained left ankle. The Angels also left off left-hander Wade LeBlanc and 40-year-old infielder John McDonald.

Versatile Efren Navarro earned a spot as an Angels reserve.

The Angels kept 12 pitchers on their roster, while the Royals have 11.

Trout Makes Playoff Debut when Angels Host Royals

kc-royalsANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — When Mike Trout asked Albert Pujols for advice on his playoff debut, the veteran slugger with two rings told baseball’s best young player to keep the same swing that finally got the Los Angeles Angels back into the October spotlight.

After nearly three full years of electrifying play, Trout reaches the milestone he craves most Thursday night when he runs out to center field at the Big A for the Angels’ AL Division Series opener.

The Angels are facing the Kansas City Royals, who must concoct a quick encore to their incredible 12-inning comeback victory in the wild-card game. Manager Ned Yost thinks his club will respond swiftly against the majors’ best regular-season team.

Angels ace Jered Weaver starts against good friend Jason Vargas, who pitched for Los Angeles last year.

Extra Innings Boost Audience for AL Wild-Card Game

kc-royalsATLANTA (AP) — Extra innings boosted viewership for the American League wild-card game.

The Kansas City Royals’ comeback 9-8 win in 12 innings over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday averaged more than 5.2 million viewers on TBS. The network said Wednesday that’s up 14 percent from the nearly 4.6 million for last year’s NL game between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh to open the postseason, a 6-2 Pirates win.

On Tuesday, the Royals trailed 7-3 after seven innings, but they scored three times in the eighth, tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, then rallied again from down a run in the 12th.

Viewership peaked at 6.5 million from 11:30-11:45 p.m. EDT during the ninth inning.

Trips to Mound Limited in Arizona Experiment

mlb bigNEW YORK (AP) — Teams will be limited to three trips to the mound by managers, coaches and catchers during a game, except for pitching changes, under experimental speed-up rules to be used during the Arizona Fall League.

The pace of game committee established last month by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced a series of initiatives Wednesday that will be tried in the AFL, which opens Oct. 7 and runs until Nov. 15. The three-trip limit will apply even if a game goes to extra innings.

The average time of nine-inning games in the major leagues was a record 3 hour, 2 minutes this year, up from 2:33 in 1981.

Royals Return to Playoffs in Dramatic Fashion

kc-royalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It had been 29 years since the Kansas City Royals had last been to the postseason — nearly three decades spent mostly in baseball’s backwater, a small-market organization on a shoe-string budget trying in vain to compete with the big boys.

On Tuesday night, they returned to the game’s grand stage in dramatic fashion.

Salvador Perez singled home the winning run with two outs in the 12th inning, capping two late comebacks that gave Kansas City a thrilling 9-8 victory over the Oakland Athletics and sent the Royals to a best-of-five Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Royals will meet the AL West champions in the opener on Thursday in Los Angeles.

“We’re going to enjoy this one,” said Eric Hosmer, drenched in champagne, who sparked the final Royals rally with a one-out triple. “We realize we’re playing a team that had the best record in baseball, but it’s a five-game series and anything can happen.”

After Tuesday night, there is no disputing that.

Making their first postseason appearance since winning the 1985 World Series, the Royals fell behind by four runs, only to race back with their speed on the bases — they led the majors with 153 steals this season. Kansas City swiped seven in this one to tie a postseason record shared by the 1907 Chicago Cubs and 1975 Cincinnati Reds, according to STATS.

The biggest one came in the 12th.

Hosmer scored the tying run on a high chopper to third by rookie Christian Colon, who reached on the infield single and then stole second with two outs.

Perez, who was 0 for 5 after squandering two late chances to drive in key runs, reached out and pulled a hard one-hopper past diving third baseman Josh Donaldson. Colon scored easily, and the Royals rushed out of the dugout for a mad celebration.

Sitting upstairs in a suite, Royals Hall of Famer George Brett put his hands on his head in near disbelief at the frenzied and jubilant scene that was unfolding below.

“It was unbelievable,” Perez said.

So unbelievable that the Kansas City Police took to Twitter with a message for folks across the city, and it was hard to believe that anybody disobeyed the request: “We really need everyone to not commit crimes and drive safely right now. We’d like to hear the Royals clinch.”

Royals manager Ned Yost has refused to discuss who he might pitch in the opener against the Angels. The two best bets are vastly different options: Danny Duffy is a young, hard-throwing lefty who plays on passion. Jeremy Guthrie is a cerebral right-hander who relies on guile.

For the A’s, it was a stunning and heartbreaking finish. They had the best record in baseball before collapsing in the second half, and needed a victory on the final day of the regular season just to squeeze into the playoffs.

Oakland had chances to put all that in the past. Instead, the season ended abruptly for a team that has failed over and over again in the postseason.

“It’s a one-game deal. You know coming in that anything can happen,” said Brandon Moss, who drove in five runs with two homers for Oakland. “I don’t think many of us will go over things in our head very much at all. We may re-watch it but I wouldn’t second-guess anything we did or they did. Both teams went out, put some pressure on the other team, played good baseball.”

Even Yost, who rarely cracks a smile, had to grin after this one.

“That’s the most incredible game I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “Our guys never quit. We fell behind there in the fifth inning, sixth inning. They kept battling back. They weren’t going to be denied. It was just a great game.”

A much-anticipated pitching showdown between Oakland ace Jon Lester and Kansas City counterpart James Shields instead turned into a high-scoring game and a battle of attrition between bullpens.

That seemed to be just fine with the two starting pitchers, who watched in rapt attention after they exited the game as the innings ticked by and midnight approached.

“It was awesome to be a part of,” Lester said. “Loud, good atmosphere, just a good baseball game. The fans, the teams, the competitiveness, the will to not lose. Obviously, we’re on the bad side at the end but you couldn’t ask for a better game for a one-game, play-in game.”

Or, in the words of Shields, “It was absolutely epic. You don’t write a story like that.”

Athletics, Royals Set Rosters for AL Wild-Card

kc-royalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals manager Ned Yost went with a nine-man pitching staff and Oakland counterpart Bob Melvin opted to keep eight pitchers for their AL wild-card game Tuesday night.

The winner advances to face the Los Angeles Angels in the division series Thursday.

The Royals are sending James Shields to the mound to start their first postseason game in 29 years. He’ll be backed by one of the strongest bullpens in baseball, which includes left-hander Brandon Finnegan, the club’s first-round pick out of TCU just this year.

The Athletics will start Jon Lester. He’ll be backed by an equally stout bullpen and an offense that includes slugger Adam Dunn, making his first postseason appearance after playing 2,001 regular-season games for five clubs over 14 seasons.

MLB Crowds Drop Slightly for 2nd Straight Year

mlb bigNEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball attendance has dipped slightly for the second straight season.

The 30 teams drew 73,739,622 for an average of 30,458, the commissioner’s office said Monday, a 0.2 percent drop from last year’s average of 30,515. Teams averaged 30,895 in 2012, down from a peak of 32,785 before the Great Recession.

Total attendance of 73.74 million was down from 74.03 million last year and 74.86 million in 2012 but was still MLB’s seventh-highest.

Pittsburgh, in the playoffs for the second straight season following a 21-year absence, set a team home record at 2.44 million, drawing about 6,000 fans more than during PNC Park’s opening season in 2001.

Kansas City made the postseason for the first time since 1985 and drew 1.96 million for its highest total since 1991.

A’s Lester, Royals’ Shields in AL Wild-Card Focus

Jon Lester (Left) and James Shields (Right). Photo courtesy of ESPN.com
Jon Lester (Left) and James Shields (Right). Photo courtesy of ESPN.com

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals made one of the boldest trades in franchise history two years ago. The Oakland Athletics made a similarly aggressive move just a couple of months ago.

The results of both will be in the starting spotlight Tuesday night.

For the Royals, it’s “Big Game James” — James Shields, the centerpiece of a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays that finally pushed the long-downtrodden franchise into the postseason for the first time in 29 years. For the A’s, it’s Jon Lester — the postseason star of the Red Sox last season who was acquired by Oakland at the trading deadline just for this moment.

The one-game AL wild-card playoff. The winner advances to face the Los Angeles Angels in the best-of-five division series Thursday. The loser trudges off into the offseason.

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