In 9th Inning, the Royals Still Have Something Extra

BALTIMORE — Shortly after the Kansas City Royals won Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Friday, Mike Moustakas, who had homered in the 10th inning of that game, was asked what he preferred, long ball or small ball.

The question was a reference to style of play — one that relies on power or one in which runs are manufactured through clever base running, bunting and hit-and-run plays. Moustakas said he did not have a preference as long as the Royals won.

But lately, Moustakas and the Royals seem capable of winning every possible way: through power, speed, defense or their stockpile of high-voltage arms.

Moustakas showed his versatility in Game 2 by hitting his fourth home run in six postseason games and then laying down a perfect bunt that helped push the go-ahead run into scoring position with the score tied in the ninth.

Add to his performance Lorenzo Cain’s all-around excellence, and the Royals won, 6-4, on Saturday to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, winning both games on the road.

The Orioles’ Nick Markakis was safe at first after Royals pitcher Kelvin Herrera took a toss from first baseman Eric Hosmer but missed the bag during the seventh inning. Credit Matt Slocum/Associated Press

The Royals also extended their postseason winning streak to nine games, dating from the 1985 World Series, their last appearance in the postseason before this year. The last time they lost was Oct. 23, 1985, when John Tudor of the St. Louis Cardinals tossed a five-hit shutout in Game 4 of that memorable series.

Three decades later, Cain went 4 for 5 with two runs scored on Saturday, drove in a run in the ninth inning and made two critical, athletic catches in the outfield.

“He’s a game changer,” Moustakas said. “Any time he’s in that lineup, he changes the game.”

Afterward, both teams were packing up to travel West for Game 3 in Kansas City on Monday, which lands 29 years to the day since Game 5 of the 1985 A.L.C.S., the last championship series game played in Kansas City.

“If you can go home 2-0, that’s as good as it gets,” Royals Manager Ned Yost said. “Going home 2-0 with our crowd for the next three days is going to be exciting.”

The Royals, who won Game 1 in 10 innings, managed to finish this one off in nine, as Omar Infante led off the inning with a single against Darren O’Day, who was quickly replaced by Zach Britton, the Orioles left-handed closer.

Yost exchanged Infante for a pinch-runner, Terrence Gore, as Moustakas came to the plate. Even though Moustakas may currently be the most dangerous hitter on the four remaining teams, Yost didn’t want him swinging away against the lefty Britton, and asked him to bunt.

Yost is often criticized for his use of such antiquated devices as the sacrifice bunt, but he stuck to his methods, and was quite pleased about the outcome.

“That was the direction we took, and it worked out great for us,” he said.

Everything seems to work out great for them, right now.

The next batter, shortstop Alcides Escobar, punched a double down the right-field line and Gore scored to give the Royals the lead, 5-4. Jarrod Dyson reached on an error and Cain singled up the middle, pushing home Escobar with an insurance run that wasn’t even needed.

Cain, the Royals’ center fielder, also exhibited his terrific defensive skills by making a diving catch of J. J. Hardy’s line drive on a flat sprint into right field. He was then shifted to right field in the next inning and robbed Hardy again, this time with the bases loaded and two outs, the score even.

“One of the keys is probably the two plays that Cain made in the outfield,” Orioles Manager Buck Showalter said, “because he makes one in the center, then moving to right, and makes one there. I expected him to make one in left field before the game was over.”

Yordano Ventura started for the Royals and gave up four runs. He left with two outs in the sixth with some stiffness and fatigue in his right shoulder, he said, but did not expect it to keep him from pitching again, if needed.

Bud Norris, who pitched so well for the Orioles in the clinching game against the Detroit Tigers in the division series Monday, was not as sharp on Saturday. He allowed four runs and nine hits in four and a third innings. One of those hits was the home run by Moustakas, who tied Willie Mays Aikens for most home runs by a Royals player in one postseason. Aikens hit his four homers in 1980.

“The only stat that matters is the one in the win column,” Moustakas said, “and we’ve been doing pretty well in that.”

So well, in fact, that the Orioles must win four of the next five games to stay alive. It has been a surprising and difficult opening to the series for Showalter and the Orioles, who have not led in any of the games. (“We’ve been tied,” he pointed out, searching for a positive).

But both games have been so close that, even though the Royals have a reassuring lead heading home, the Orioles may feel they are in a position to do the same thing in Kansas City that the Royals did here.

“A lot of confidence in our guys,” Showalter said. “You can see this time of year what a sharp, razor-thin line there is between the two. You’ve got to earn everything, every inning, every at-bat.”

Correction: October 13, 2014
An earlier version of this article misidentified the Orioles pitcher who gave up the hit to Omar Infante as he led off the ninth inning in a 4-4 game. It was Darren O’Day, who was charged with the loss, not Zach Britton, who replaced O’Day after the hit.