The Angels were a popular pick by many, myself included, to win the AL pennant this October. Well, their Postseason didn’t go quite as planned – the Royals smashed the Angels 8-3 on Sunday night, eliminating them from the playoffs without a single win.
The game actually got off to a good start for the Angels, as Mike Trout picked up his first (and thusfar, only) career Postseason hit in the first inning – a solo homer to give the Angels a 1-0 lead, their first lead of the series.
That lead was gone after Alex Gordon batted in the first inning for the Royals, however. C.J. Wilson loaded the bases with two singles and a walk, and Gordon cleared them with a three-run double. Wilson’s evening was done after just seven batters and two-thirds of an inning.
The Royals tacked on two more in the third following a two-run homer by Eric Hosmer, his second big blast following his game-winning homer in Game 2. In the fourth, the Angels had a brief glimpse of hope. Albert Pujols hit a solo homer to lead off the inning and make it 5-2, Erick Aybar doubled, and James Shields plunked David Freese to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Josh Hamilton. But Hamilton grounded into a fielder’s choice, and C.J. Cron struck out to end the threat. The Royals picked that run up in the fourth following a Mike Moustakas homer, and Lorenzo Cain drove in a seventh run following a sac fly.
The final gasp for the Angels came in the fifth. Kole Calhoun singled with one out, and Mike Trout walked to put two men on for the meat of Anaheim’s lineup. But Albert Pujols and Howie Kendrick both got robbed by Cain in center, ending the threat once again.
The Royals tacked on an eighth run in the sixth, and the Angels responded with one more in the eighth before getting shut down the rest of the way. Kansas City’s bullpen hydra of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland combined to strike out out five without a walk in three innings, though Davis did allow one run on two hits.
Kansas City will now face off with the Orioles in the ALCS, starting Friday in Baltimore. Six months ago, who would have imagined that the AL crown would come down to these two clubs? That seemingly outlandish fantasy is now a reality, and two of the powers of the 1980s will duel for supremacy in 2014.
