BALTIMORE -- When will the late-game magic end?
The Royals, America's darlings, kept defying the odds with yet another remarkable late rally Saturday, toppling the stunned Orioles with two go-ahead runs in the ninth to post a 6-4 victory.
The Royals now come home in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series with a commanding 2-0 lead.
"We just keep finding a way, don't we?" center fielder Lorenzo Cain said, smiling. "I don't know what it is. We just keep believing."
Manager Ned Yost said he is trying not to get ahead of himself, even though the Royals now have a chance to clinch the series at home with three games coming up at Kauffman Stadium.
"You know, you guys get sick of me saying this, but our focus really is just on each game," Yost said. "We're not looking ahead at anything."
The Royals already have won four games in extra innings this postseason. This time, the Royals won it in the ninth, without even hitting a ball hard.
Omar Infante led off with an infield chopper that got just past the pitcher for a single. Enter pinch runner Terrance Gore.
Check out these images from the Royals' 6-4 win over the Orioles in Game 2 of the ALCS.
Third baseman Mike Moustakas, who had already homered earlier in the game, put down a sacrifice bunt -- that order coming from Yost.
"Hey, whatever we can do," Moustakas said. "Whether it's a bunt or steal or hit-and-run, we do it. We're all in this together."
Shortstop Alcides Escobar then slapped a double down the right-field line to score Gore and the Royals had the lead.
"I was 0 for 4 and just trying to make something happen," Escobar said. "I always try to go to right-center field. I got a fastball down the middle and I went that way. It worked out."
Two batters later, Cain, who had a tremendous day, rolled an RBI single into left and it was 6-4.
That was enough for Greg Holland, who shut down the O's in the bottom of the ninth.
"This is a special group of guys," Holland said.
3 UP
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-- Cain's day. Cain just about did it all. He had four hits, scored two runs and made a sensational lunging catch to take away extra bases from J.J. Hardy in the sixth. Cain also made a nice running catch near the foul line in the seventh on Hardy with the bases loaded and two out. But Cain's best play came in the first inning. With Nori Aoki on third and Cain at second, first baseman Eric Hosmer hit a broken-bat flare over Hardy's head at shortstop. Cain immediately read that it would drop and took off for home. The ball did drop and Cain had the Royals' second run. That put the pressure on the O's right away. "It's who we are," Cain said. "We try to put pressure on everyone we play with our legs." As for Cain's defense, he said: "I just work on getting good jumps. I work on that all the time."
Oh, and Cain's fourth hit drove in another run in the Royals' ninth to make it 6-4. "There's always a feeling we're going to come back and get runs," he said. "That's how we felt in the ninth."
-- Moose October. Moustakas continued his amazing run in the playoffs, stroking two more hits including another home run, his fourth of the playoffs, tying a Royals record held by Willie Aikens in 1980. Moose's homer put the Royals up 4-3 momentarily, though they couldn't hold it. Still, even Moose finds it hard how to explain this postseason run. "I'm just seeing the ball really well," he said. Hosmer had another explanation: "There's a reason we drafted him: He's a good player who is only getting better."
-- Herrera fights through the eighth. Reliever Kelvin Herrera, so effective on Friday night, was on his game again. He made a mistake by not touching the bag on a flip from Hosmer after a routine grounder. That error put a runner on. Herrera walked the next hitter. Herrera then struck out Adam Jones. He jammed Nelson Cruz and broke his bat, but Cruz still flicked a single to left, loading the bases. But Herrera got the next two hitters to fly out harmlessly and escaped.
3 DOWN
-- Ventura's command. Before he left the game with shoulder tightness, Ventura struggled mightily with his arm slot. He lost it in the second inning and walked three hitters, leading to a run. He couldn't get his breaking ball over and his sidearm delivery (he should be three-quarters to over the top) made his fastball act like a runaway two-seamer. He couldn't command it. So Ventura, like James Shields the night before, gave up four runs and lasted only 5 2/3 innings. The Royals gave Ventura 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3 leads and he couldn't hold them.
-- Gordon's day at the plate. A night after giving the Royals the lead in the 10th with a dramatic home run, Alex Gordon had an absolutely dreadful night at the plate. Gordon struck out with a runner on third in the first. He struck out with runners on second and third in the third. He struck out with runners on first and second in the fifth. He struck out again in the eighth. Ugh. The golden sombrero.
-- No more. Nothing more to nitpick about a team that has won six straight playoff games. Amazing.
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter @jflanagankc or email him at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
