Alex Gordon drove in four runs and robbed the Orioles of another as Kansas City beat Baltimore, 8-6, in Game 1 of the ALCS
The Royals' usual combination of speed and fielding prowess, coupled with an infusion of home runs, proved to be too much for the hometown O's Friday night in Baltimore. Kansas City won a wild Game 1, 8-6, to take a 1-0 lead in the ALCS.
The scoring started for the Royals in the third inning, with a solo home run by shortstop Alcides Escobar. It was just his fourth of the entire season. His sudden power surge was followed by a swarm of Royals reaching base, three of whom were driven in by Alex Gordon, who also made a spectacular catch in the outfield to save a run in the bottom of the inning.
The Orioles made a run at the Royals' crown in the bottom of the fifth, when Nelson Cruz started a rally that eventually brought the game within one run. The Orioles then tied the game in the sixth inning after a series of unfortunate events (for the Royals) led Baltimore second baseman Jonathan Schoop to score from third after nearly getting picked off on the very same base.
Gordon -- who tied Willie Aikens and Jim Sundberg for a Royals record with four RBI -- would nearly put the game out of reach for good, with a top of the tenth inning home run off of Darren O'Day. This was not the first good time Gordon's had in Charm City, with a. 294 batting average, eight HRs and 16 RBI in 120 plate appearances over the course of 26 games in Orioles Park. He would be joined soon after by teammate Mike Moustakas, who hit a two-run home run to push the Royals' runs past the point of no return for the Orioles.
The Royals may have found some pop to go with the snap and crackle
Although they had the lowest number of home runs in the regular season -- the team hit just 95 home runs this year -- Kansas City has found its stroke, smacking seven so far in four games, including Escobar's stunning home run to start the game's scoring early on. If they can continue to maintain this wave of power, along with their superlative speed on the basepaths and what's normally a very solid defense, the Royals will likely end up going to the World Series.
Tillman slows down track meet
The Royals love stealing, and Orioles' starter Chris Tillman loves shutting down the basepaths, allowing just two steals in the last two seasons combined.
Chris Tillman allowed 2 stolen bases over past two regular seasons -- fewest in MLB among those with 350+ IP.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 11, 2014And while he was less successful at other aspects of his job, he did manage to keep the Royals --who led the majors in stolen bases this season -- from stealing a single base.
"Medium Game James" Shields
James Shields' "Big Game James" nickname is one of the best in sports (it's not quite "Country Breakfast", though what is?), but he's largely failed to live up to the label after the stretch of fantastic baseball which earned him it at the start of his postseason career. Shields has been anything but worthy of his moniker since then with a postseason ERA of 7.46 and 21 earned runs surrendered in 25 1/3 innings.
Britton's near meltdown
After not allowing more than one walk in a single appearance this season -- letting up only one 23 times -- Zach Britton walked three straight Royals before he and O'Day were able to navigate out of a no-out, bases loaded jam in the top of the 9th. That this was maybe the fourth oddest thing to happen in this game should tell you pretty much everything you need to know.
The teams will continue the series Saturday afternoon, with Yordano Ventura of Kansas City challenging Bud Norris for Baltimore, with pre-game coverage starting on TBS at 3:30, and first pitch at 4:07. The game call also be seen on MLB.tv and heard on your local ESPN radio affiliate.