Royals scores twice in ninth to beat O's and take 2-0 ALCS lead

The Kansas City Royals used more late-inning magic to pull out another close game and take a two games to none lead in the American League Championship Series.

The Royals scored twice in the ninth to snap a 4-4 tie and beat the Orioles 6-4 tonight in front of a sellout crowd of 46,912 at Camden Yards. They went home stunned at the end as the upstart Royals moved to 6-0 this postseason and now head home in control of this ALCS.

Alcides Escobar's RBI double in the ninth broke a 4-4 tie. Darren O'Day began the ninth on the mound and Omar Infante reached on an infield hit to third base. Terence Gore pinch-ran and advanced to second on a sac bunt before Escobar's groundball two-bagger down the right-field line made it 5-4. A Ryan Flaherty error put runners on the corners and Lorenzo Cain's single made it 6-4.

Cain had four hits today and is 6-for-8 in the ALCS.

The O's missed a big chance in the seventh, leaving the bases loaded with one out in a tie game. The O's went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base.

For the second day in a row, Kansas City scored first. A broken-bat two-run single to right by Eric Hosmer made it 2-0 in the first. The O's cut that lead in half on Caleb Joseph's sac fly an inning later.

Billy Butler's RBI double in the third made it 3-1 but the Orioles pulled even on an Adam Jones two-run homer on a 96 mph Yordano Ventura fastball in the third.

Jones was 5-for-43 in his career in the playoffs until that at-bat, when he produced his first postseason home run.

The tie didn't last long as Mike Moustakas hit a solo homer for a 4-3 lead in the fourth. It was his fourth postseason homer and ties a the Royals' single-season postseason mark set by Willie Mays Aikens in 1980.

It got tied once again in the fifth on a Nelson Cruz fielder's choice grounder that followed back-to-back singles by Alejandro De Aza and Jones.

For the second game in a row, the Orioles starter lasted just 4 1/3 innings. Bud Norris allowed nine hits and four runs on 90 pitches.

O's starters have allowed nine runs in 8 2/3 innings in the ALCS. In five postseason games, O's starters have an ERA of 6.08 and just one quality start.

Ventura went 5 2/3 innings and left the game with right shoulder tightness while pitching to Joseph with two outs and none on. He gave up five hits and four runs after pitching to an ERA of 1.26 in two regular-season starts against the Orioles.

The Royals bullpen had another strong day, working 3 1/3 scoreless innings as Wade Davis got the win and Greg Holland picked up a save.

The Royals have a pair of two-run wins and now are two victories away from returning to the World Series for the first time in 29 years.

The series now moves to Kansas City for a workout day tomorrow and Game 3 Monday night when Wei-Yin Chen (16-6, 3.54 ERA) faces former Oriole Jeremy Guthrie (13-11, 4.13 ERA).