Pair in Greinke trade coming up Royal in ballclub's turnaround

BALTIMORE — Many baseball observers point to the James Shields trade in December 2012 as the defining move of this chapter in Kansas City Royals history. That’s true, to an extent: By acquiring an ace only two years away from free agency, general manager Dayton Moore unofficially announced the start of his team’s window to make the playoffs.

But as the Royals have seized a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series, a trade in which Kansas City gave up an ace has resonated even more powerfully.

Almost exactly two years earlier — Dec. 19, 2010 — the Royals traded Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt to the Brewers for Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi.

Odorizzi was part of the prospect package the Royals traded to Tampa Bay for Shields, while Cain and Escobar stayed around and played starring roles in Kansas City’s 6-4 win over the Orioles in Game 2 on Saturday.

Cain went 4 for 5 — tying George Brett’s franchise record for hits in a postseason game — and made a pair of spectacular, rally-stifling catches in the outfield. (Cain also made a brilliant read on the bases in the first inning, which allowed him to score on Eric Hosmer’s shallow, broken-bat single to left.) Later, Escobar broke a 4-4 tie with his game-winning double to right in the top of the ninth.

“It was the start of our championship team,” Royals manager Ned Yost said, reflecting on the 2010 trade. “That was the start of putting together a championship-caliber baseball team, to get two guys as athletic as they are ... That’s where it started, with that Greinke trade.

“Both of those guys, it’s sure fun to watch them evolve over the last couple years and really get to this point in their careers, where they’re fantastic players.”

Yost has known Cain and Escobar for years, because they were minor leaguers in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system when he was the big-league manager there. Now a broader audience is appreciating them — especially Cain, who’s become one of the breakout stars of this postseason. Cain has posted an OPS of .881 over six playoff games, during the same month in which he and his wife have celebrated the birth of their son, Cameron.

“Definitely exciting, having my son born a few days ago,” Cain said after Game 2. “To be here in the playoffs and enjoying this run where we are now is a blessing ...

“I want to be an all‑around player. I want to be able to swing the bat, steal bases and play solid defense. That’s what I pride myself on, just being a complete player. I’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

And yet, Cain’s production in the postseason hasn’t been a surprise. The 2014 regular season was his best in the majors; he batted .301 with a .751 OPS and played a career-high 133 games. He was 28 for 33 in stolen-base attempts and is one of several Royals whose speed on the basepaths has affected opposing pitchers throughout the postseason.

Cain has thrived in the No. 3 spot ever since Yost moved him there in mid-September. He’s had such a meaningful impact on every phase of the game that Hosmer said Cain is “carrying this team” in the postseason. That’s lofty praise — and justifiably so.

More good news for the Royals: Cain, 28, isn’t slated to be eligible for free agency until after 2017.

— Yost said starter Yordano Ventura, who exited Game 2 in the sixth inning with shoulder stiffness, is not seriously injured and should be ready to pitch Game 6, if needed. “He was all smiles at the end of the day,” Yost said. Still, the Royals have reason to be concerned. It would be difficult for the Royals to win the World Series without Ventura at full strength, especially given their hesitation to use Danny Duffy in the rotation.

Duffy was the Royals’ best starting pitcher for much of the season but missed time in September with a stiff shoulder. He’s thrown only one inning in the postseason.

— Since the League Championship Series adopted a best-of-seven format in 1985, no team has lost the first two games at home and gone on to win the series. So, the Orioles will make history if they advance. (Three teams — the ’85 Cardinals, ’85 Royals and ’04 Red Sox — rallied from 2-0 deficits, but they benefited from having the middle three games at home.)

— Finally, I thought “hitterish” was a newfangled term created by baseball scouts. Nope. When I talked with Hall of Famer Brett in the Royals clubhouse after Game 2, he invoked the term in reference to the emergence of Mike Moustakas. He said the iconic hitting coach Charley Lau used the word during Brett’s playing career to describe batters who look like they’re going to get a hit every time they’re at the plate — even though we know that’s not possible.

If the term is good enough for George Brett, then it’s good enough for me. And by the way, his assessment of Moustakas is correct: The third baseman’s at-bats in the postseason have been thorough and increasingly productive. Moustakas has four home runs in the playoffs, including a shot to right in the fourth inning Saturday.