Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas hit 10th-inning home runs Friday to power the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles 8-6 in their Major League Baseball playoff series opener.
In cold and rainy conditions, the Royals moved ahead in the best-of-seven American League final with game two Saturday in Baltimore. The series winner will face either St. Louis or San Francisco in the World Series.
The Royals, who ended a 29-year playoff drought this season, seek their first World Series berth since winning the 1985 title while the Orioles, in the league final for the first time since 1997, seek their first World Series berth since winning the crown in 1983.
Baltimore had battled back from a four-run deficit to pull level at 5-5 and escaped trouble in the ninth inning after Orioles relief pitcher Zach Britton walked Alcides Escobar, Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain to load the bases with no outs.
Eric Hosmer grounded to first but Steve Pearce threw to catcher Nick Hundley for a force out at home plate to deny Kansas City the go-ahead run.
Baltimore reliever Darren O'Day then entered and induced Billy Butler to hit into an inning-ending double play that kept the score level.
But in the top of the 10th inning, Gordon bashed a leadoff homer off O'Day into the right-field stands to give Kansas City the lead.
After a walk to Salvador Perez, Moustakas followed with a two-run blast into the right-field stands to produce an 8-5 advantage.
In the bottom of the 10th, Royals reliever Greg Holland allowed a two-out Ryan Flaherty single, walked Hundley and surrendered a run-scoring single up the middle to Orioles pinch-hitter Delmon Young, bringing the potential winning run to the plate for Baltimore.
Instead, Nick Markakis grounded out to end the game.
Gordon had smacked a three-run triple for the Royals in the third inning after Escobar opened with a solo homer to left field to stake the Royals an early 4-0 advantage.
The Orioles, who loaded the bases in the second inning but came away empty, responded in the third when Markakis led off with a double, took third on a ground out and scored on an Adam Jones single to left field.
Kansas City struck again in the fifth when Cain doubled, took third on a ground out and scored on a Butler sacrifice fly, giving the Royals a 5-1 advantage.
Baltimore answered in the bottom half of the fifth as Alejandro De Aza singled, took second on an fielder's choice by Jones and scored on Nelson Cruz's double off the left-field wall.
Flaherty followed with a two-out single to right that plated Jones and Cruz to pull the Orioles within 5-4.
The Orioles pulled level at 5-5 in the sixth. Jonathan Schoop walked, took second on a Markakis single, stole third when a throw to the third baseman struck him in the back and scored to level the game at 5-5 on De Aza's infield single over the pitcher's mound.
But the Royals limited the damage, halting the threat when Cruz hit into an inning-ending double play, helping set up the late-inning drama.
The Orioles remain without slugger Chris Davis, who is serving a 25-game ban after testing positive for amphetamines. Davis could rejoin the lineup if Baltimore reaches the World Series.
Source: AFP