Left-handed hitters right the ship for Royals in Game 2 comeback

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Another comeback, another playoff victory for the Kansas City Royals.

For the fourth time in their five wins this postseason, the Royals found a way to shake off an early deficit, come out on top and take a two games to none lead in the American League Championship Series.

But Game 2 of the ALCS was a little different. For starters, former (and possibly future) Cy Young Award winner David Price was on the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The ace left-hander won nine of his 11 regular-season starts after being acquired by the Jays specifically for games such as this.

Price was as good as ever in the first six innings Saturday, allowing a leadoff single to Alcides Escobar and then retiring the next 18 Royals in a row.

“He was just attacking the zone,” said Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer. “He was really mixing in his fastball and his cutter – and he was really putting a lot of guys away with that changeup.”

With the Royals down to their last nine outs, their bats finally started to come alive in the seventh.

As usual, a number of little things – not a big blast – brought the Royals back.

“Keep the line moving … it’s how we approach every single game,” said third baseman Mike Moustakas. “At some point you’re going to score a couple runs.”

But with Price pitching so well, the task looked even tougher.

“He was every bit as dominant as I’ve seen him,” said Royals second baseman Ben Zobrist, who started the winning rally with a bloop single that fell between two Blue Jays defenders.

Zobrist should know a thing or two about Price. The two were teammates with the Tampa Bay Rays for seven years, beginning with the 2008 season in which the Rays made it to their only World Series.

Interestingly this season, left-handed hitters have had more success against Price (.262 average, .284 on-base percentage, .374 slugging percentage) than right-handed ones (.219/.267/.342).

With the game on the line, the Royals’ three lefty swingers came up with the biggest hits.

-- Hosmer drove in the first run with a single that scored Zobrist.

-- Third baseman Mike Moustakas singled to plate Hosmer and tie the game.

-- Left fielder Alex Gordon doubled to bring home Moustakas with the go-ahead run.

Three lefties, three clutch hits.

But that wasn’t all. The Royals’ excellence in running the bases also played a role in the big inning.

-- Center fielder Lorenzo Cain went from first to third on Hosmer’s RBI single and scored the second run on a groundout.

-- Hosmer took second when Kendrys Morales grounded out because he was stealing second on the play.

“The key to that whole inning, believe it or not, was Hosmer stealing second base.” Yost said afterward. “That was a double-play ball. That allowed us to get to a point where we could score five runs.

“That was huge.”

-- And Moustakas advanced to second base on his RBI single when the throw from the outfield went to the plate. That put him in position to cruise home with the go-ahead run on Gordon’s double.

In the space of seven batters, the Royals were able to turn around a game in which they were being overpowered to one in which they held the upper hand.

All because of a simple offensive philosophy, whether at the plate or on the bases: “Keep the line moving.”

“That’s what good teams do. You take advantage of some mistakes from the other team and just try to make the most of it,” Hosmer said. “It worked out well for us. It got us back in the game and got us a lead.”

Nearly every Royals player in the jubilant clubhouse echoed a similar version of that same mantra preached by hitting coach Dale Sveum.

“He’s been hammering on it since he took over,” said Moustakas, who also credits Sveum for refining his approach at the plate.

Moustakas is a .233 career hitter with a .376 slugging percentage against southpaws. This year, Sveum encouraged him to take the ball to the opposite field more, especially with teams employing frequent defensive shifts against him.

The results were significant. Moustakas had his best season by far against lefties – he hit .282 and slugged .485.

“I knew I had to make a change,” he said. “And it was a conscious effort to drive the ball to left field. And Dale was with me the whole way.”

If success breeds confidence and confidence breeds success, the Royals have an abundance of both heading to Toronto for Game 3 on Monday.

“It was a rough six innings but we found a way again,” Cain said. “No matter what the runs say on the board early in the game, we understand we have a good team. The game’s never over.”

Just as long as you keep the line moving.

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