BALTIMORE– Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas homered in the top of the 10th inning as the Kansas City Royals pulled out a wild 8-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Friday night.
Gordon finished the night 3-for-4 with four RBIs after his solo homer to right off Baltimore right-hander Darren O’Day (0-1) snapped a 5-5 tie starting the 10th. The left fielder also hit a three-run double in the third inning.
Moustakas added a two-run homer for an 8-5 lead in the 10th after left-hander Brian Matusz came in.
Kansas City finished with three homers. Shortstop Alcides Escobar hit a solo shot in the third inning while the Orioles didn’t hit any and wasted several scoring chances in the 4-hour, 37-minute marathon.
The Royals have now played extra innings in four of their five postseason games– and won all of them.
Kansas City nearly took the lead in the ninth when Baltimore closer Zach Britton walked the first three hitters but came up empty.
Right-hander Wade Davis (1-0) got the victory as the Kansas City bullpen gave up just one run in five innings. After the three-run 10th, right-hander Greg Holland came on and earned the save even though Baltimore scored a run on pinch-hitter Delmon Young’s RBI single.
The Royals twice took a four-run lead early, but the Orioles rallied and tied the game at 5-5 with a run in the sixth. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop walked to start the inning and right fielder Nick Markakis then singled.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez then appeared to have Schoop picked off second while left fielder Alejandro De Aza was trying to bunt. Schoop took off for third and Escobar’s throw hit the Oriole in the back while sliding, letting both runners be safe in a double steal.
That put runners at second and third and De Aza blooped left hander Brandon Finnegan’s pitch between the mound and second. Escobar dove but couldn’t get it, and Schoop raced home to make it 5-5.
Both starters struggled as Kansas City right-hander James Shields gave up four runs on 10 hits in five innings. Baltimore right-hander Chris Tillman lasted just 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, the big one being Gordon’s three-run double in the fourth.
Kansas City took the lead with a four-run third inning. Escobar made it 1-0 with a one-out solo homer off Tillman, who then began dealing with control issues and falling behind batters.
The right-hander walked one and gave up two singles, the latter an infield single to designated hitter Billy Butler that loaded the bases. Gordon’s broken-bat three-run double down the right-field line gave the Royals a 4-0 lead.
Baltimore made it 4-1 in the bottom of that inning on center fielder Adam Jones’ RBI single. The Royals stretched the lead to 5-1 when Butler greeted right-hander Tommy Hunter with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
But the Orioles scored three in the bottom half thanks to designated hitter Nelson Cruz’s RBI double and a two-run single from third baseman and Maine native Ryan Flaherty. That cut the Kansas City lead to 5-4 after five.
NOTES: Orioles manager Buck Showalter still would not reveal his Game 2 starter before Game 1, saying only it would be LHP Wei-Yin Chen or RHP Bud Norris. Chen started Game 2 of the Detroit series and Norris did the same in Game 3, getting the win as the Orioles completed their three-game sweep. … This is the first time the Royals have played in the ALCS since 1985, when they went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series in seven games. … Royals manager Ned Yost has named rookie RHP Yordano Ventura as his Game 2 starter. Ventura went 1-1 with a 1.26 ERA against Baltimore this year, giving up just two runs.