Exactly two weeks ago, the Kansas City Royals were two outs away from being eliminated from the playoffs. Now, just one game from clinching a spot in the World Series, that number is up to 108.
The Royals remained undefeated in the postseason Tuesday night, topping the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1, and capturing a commanding 3-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.
While the first two wins of the series were gained with the bats—14 runs, four home runs—the Royals got back to basics in front of a raucous crowd at Kauffman Stadium: pitching, fielding and timely hitting.
Jeremy Guthrie, making his postseason debut in his 11th major league season, went five innings and allowed just three hits, two walks and one earned run. While he didn't receive the win, he was far more effective than ace James Shields and fire-baller Yordano Ventura, as The Kansas City Star's Andy McCullough noted:
He only ran into trouble in the second inning, when Steve Pearce and J.J. Hardy hit back-to-back doubles to plate the Orioles' only run off the starter. No one reached as far as second base in the following three frames.
Mike Moustakas, whose legend seems to grow with every new playoff game, was there to help Guthrie (and reliever Jason Frasor). With home runs in four of his previous five games, Moose opted to make an impact at the hot corner this time around.
He snared a line drive from Pearce in the fourth, and two innings later, he made a diving catch over the railing, tumbling head-first into the crowd—a defining effort you're likely to see replayed for years to come.
MLB's Twitter feed provided a look, while ESPN Stats & Info noted the rarity of the plays:
As is fitting for the movie script that this season is seemingly becoming, the Royals followed up each play by grinding out a single run.
Alex Gordon tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth with a bases-loaded RBI groundout, and Billy Butler's sacrifice fly in the sixth scored pinch runner Jarrod Dyson to make it 2-1. ESPN Stats & Info and the Toronto Star's Richard Griffin noted some appropriate numbers for the balanced squad:
The bullpen would take care of the rest, going four perfect innings to secure the win. Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan noted the clinical performance:
Baltimore will attempt to fight off elimination in Game 4 on Wednesday with starter Miguel Gonzalez, while the home club, Kansas City, counters with Jason Vargas.
The Royals need just one win in the next four games to advance to the World Series, but judging by the past seven, they won't need nearly that many tries.
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