Salvador Perez's walk-off single will go down in Royals lore. (Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After a dramatic win in the American League wild-card game, the Kansas City Royals believe the impossible is possible.
The Royals will ride of a surge of momentum into an AL Division Series matchup against the Los Angeles Angels after recording a 9-8, 12-inning victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.
Kansas City trailed Oakland 7-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth inning, and the A’s had ace Jon Lester on the mound. The Royals scored three in the eighth and one in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
Then, after the A’s took the lead on a two-out hit in the top of the 12th, Kansas City scored twice in the bottom of the 12th to win the game.
“That’s the most incredible game I’ve ever been part of,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “The fans were unbelievable. Our guys never quit. When we fell behind in the sixth inning, they kept battling back. They weren’t going to be denied.”
Yost admitted to feeling beat after the A’s scored five runs in the sixth inning to take a 7-3 lead. His team convinced him otherwise.
“Your mind wants to think it’s dire until our guys came into the dugout and they didn’t think it was dire,” he said. “They were like, ‘We got this. Let’s go. We can do this.’ To a man, it was impressive to hear the confidence they had.”
Next up for the Royals are the Angels, whose 98-64 record was the best in the major leagues.
The teams split six games this season, with each team taking two of three in the other team’s park.
The Angels will pitch right-hander Jered Weaver (18-9, 3.59 ERA) in the series opener Thursday night in Anaheim, Calif. The Royals have not announced a starter.
The candidates to start for Kansas City are Jason Vargas, who last pitched Sept. 24; Jeremy Guthrie, who last pitched Friday; and Danny Duffy, who last pitched Saturday. James Shields was ineffective as the starter in the wild-card game, and the Royals also used starting pitcher Yordano Ventura in relief. Two days after throwing four innings, Ventura allowed two runs on two hits, including a three-run homer by Brandon Moss, while facing three batters Tuesday.
