ANAHEIM, 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.

ATLANTA (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.

KANSAS 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.”

KANSAS 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.

CHICAGO (AP) — Kansas City’s chance for the AL Central title was erased by Detroit’s victory on Sunday, and the Royals went on to a 6-4 comeback win over Chicago in the final game for retiring White Sox captain Paul Konerko.

Coming into the final day of the regular season, Kansas City was hoping for a one-game playoff on Monday in Detroit for the division crown. But the Tigers clinched the Central with a 3-0 victory over the Twins, sending the Royals to a home wild-card game against Oakland on Tuesday night in their first playoff appearance since 1985.

Right after Detroit secured its fourth straight division title, Kansas City manager Ned Yost started pulling some of his regulars from the lineup. Rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura was lifted after four innings and 73 pitches.

Kansas City (89-73) likely will have James Shields on the mound when the Royals take on the Athletics.

CHICAGO (AP) — A day after the celebration, Hall of Famer George Brett was a little worn out but no less ecstatic.

The Kansas City Royals clinched a playoff spot for the first time in 29 years, and their greatest player sees no reason why they can’t make a run.

The franchise is back in the playoffs for the first time since Brett led them to a World Series championship in 1985.

Kansas City ended the longest playoff drought among the major North American sports leagues with a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

Now, the Royals are looking for bigger things. They entered Saturday trailing Detroit by a game in the AL Central with two to play.

CHICAGO (AP) — Kansas City’s long postseason drought is over.

The Royals clinched a playoff spot for the first time in 29 years, beating the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Friday night behind seven scoreless innings from Jeremy Guthrie.

Kansas City secured at least a wild card and ended the longest active postseason drought among the major North American sports leagues. Not since George Brett led the Royals to a World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985 had they reached the playoffs.

Small-market Kansas City endured more than its share of losing in recent years. But it contended into September last season and kicked down the playoff door on Friday.

CHICAGO (AP) — Eric Hosmer homered and drove in two runs, Lorenzo Cain had four hits and scored twice, and the Kansas City Royals put themselves on the verge of a playoff spot with a 6-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.

One more win for Kansas City, or a loss by Seattle, will send the Royals to the postseason for the first time since George Brett led them to a championship in 1985.

Kansas City remained two games behind Detroit in the AL Central and moved one up on Oakland in the wild card standings.

Hosmer had three hits, including an RBI single in the first and a solo homer off Jose Quintana that tied it at 3 in the sixth.

Cain scored the go-ahead run in the eighth when second baseman Marcus Semien bounced the throw trying to turn a double play, and Alex Gordon added an RBI single.

The Royals went ahead after back-to-back singles by Cain and Hosmer put runners on first and third.

Jake Petricka relieved Quintana, and it looked as if the White Sox would get out of it when Billy Butler sent a grounder to short.

Semien, however, bounced the throw to first. That allowed Cain to score the go-ahead run, and Gordon followed with a single to drive in pinch runner Terrance Gore, making it 5-3.

That made a winner of Kelvin Herrera (4-3), who worked a scoreless seventh after James Shields went six innings.

Wade Davis pitched the eighth and Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 45th save in 47 chances.

Shields allowed three runs and five hits for Kansas City.

Quintana (9-11) gave up five runs and 11 hits over 7 1-3 innings for Chicago.

The White Sox held retiring captain Paul Konerko out of the lineup, but he expects to start the final three games. He has been playing through a broken bone in his left hand and was “a little sore” after playing two of the previous three in Detroit.

TRAINER’S ROOM:

Royals: IF Christian Colon (broken middle finger) played six innings and had two hits in his first rehab game in the Arizona Instructional League, general manager Dayton Moore said. Moore had no comment when asked how Colon’s finger felt, and it’s not clear if he will be on the postseason roster.

White Sox: White Sox OF Avisail Garcia left the game because of a stiff lower back. He lined out in the second inning and was replaced in right field by Moises Sierra before the top of the third. The White Sox said he is day to day.

UP NEXT:

The Royals send RHP Jeremy Guthrie (12-11, 4.28 ERA) to the mound, hoping to wrap up a playoff berth. RHP Hector Noesi (8-10, 4.39) pitches for Chicago.