Salvador Perez singled home the winning run with two outs in the 12th inning, capping two late comebacks that gave Kansas City a thrilling 9-8 victory over the Oakland Athletics. The win sends the Royals to a best-of-five Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Royals will meet the AL West champions in the opener on Thursday in Los Angeles.
“We’re going to enjoy this one,” said Eric Hosmer, drenched in champagne, who sparked the final Royals rally with a one-out triple. “We realize we’re playing a team that had the best record in baseball, but it’s a five-game series and anything can happen.”
After Tuesday night, there is no disputing that.
Making their first postseason appearance since winning the 1985 World Series, the Royals fell behind by four runs, only to race back with their speed on the bases — they led the majors with 153 steals this season. Kansas City swiped seven in this one to tie a postseason record shared by the 1907 Chicago Cubs and 1975 Cincinnati Reds, according to STATS.
The biggest one came in the 12th.
Hosmer scored the tying run on a high chopper to third by rookie Christian Colon, who reached on the infield single and then stole second with two outs.
Perez, who was 0 for 5 after squandering two late chances to drive in key runs, reached out and pulled a hard one-hopper past diving third baseman Josh Donaldson. Colon scored easily, and the Royals rushed out of the dugout for a mad celebration.
