KANSAS CITY -- A jammed-in crowd shook Kauffman Stadium with blue thunder, releasing its pent-up passion after 28 dry years, trying to push the Royals to another great moment in their return to postseason glory. And, in a late-inning frenzy, it happened.Giving the 40,502 fans jolts of joy, the resilient Royals rallied to stun the Oakland Athletics in 12 innings, 9-8, in a wild Wild Card Game on Tuesday night and advance to the American League Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels. 
It turned into one of most spine-tingling victories in Royals history.With one out in the 12th, Eric Hosmer tripled off center fielder Sam Fuld's glove as he and left fielder Jonny Gomes nearly collided at the wall. Facing right-hander Dan Otero, Christian Colon hit a chopper toward third that Josh Donaldson couldn't handle. It went for a single as Hosmer scored for an 8-8 tie.Left-hander Fernando Abad replaced Otereo and Alex Gordon fouled out. Right-hander Jason Hammel, usually a starter, took over for Abad and, with Salvador Perez at the plate, Colon stole second. Perez lashed a single down the third-base line to drive in the winning.The Royals surrounded him behind second base and the Royals were going to Anaheim.The A's had gone ahead, 8-7, in the top of the 12th.Royals rookie Brandon Finnegan, a left-hander working his third inning of relief, began the A's 12th by walking Josh Reddick. Jed Lowrie 's bunt moved Reddick to second and Finnegan was relieved by veteran right-hander Jason Frasor.Alberto Callaspo, an ex-Royal, batted for Nate Freiman and Frasor's wild pitch got Reddick to third. Callaspo lined a run-scoring single into left field and a sudden hush fell over The K.The A's took a 7-3 lead into the eighth inning, but neither the crowd nor the Royals would go quietly.Alcides Escobar opened the Royals' eighth against left-hander Jon Lester by reaching base on an infield single and then stole second, bringing the roaring fans to their feet. Escobar moved to third as Nori Aoki bounced out, then scored on Lorenzo Cain 's single.Hosmer's grounder down the line went off first baseman Stephen Vogt 's glove but was foul. Cain stole second, Hosmer walked and A's manager Bob Melvin removed Lester in favor of right-hander Luke Gregerson. Billy Butler drilled a single to right to score Cain and the Royals were within two runs.Pinch-runner Terrance Gore stole second on the next pitch. And Gregerson's next pitch went wild, allowing Hosmer to score and putting Gore at third with one out. The place went wild. Gordon walked and stole second as Perez struck out.With the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, Omar Infante struck out to end the inning.There was more to come. Josh Willingham, batting for Mike Moustakas, opened the ninth inning against left-hander Sean Doolittle by dropping a single into right field. Jarrod Dyson ran for Willingham and was bunted to second by Escobar.Dyson, on 2-1 pitch to Aoki, stole third base. Aoki hit a long out to right field, a sacrifice fly to tie the score, 7-7. Cain lined into the third out.The full house of long-deprived KC fans, clad in blue, gave the Royals a rousing welcome as the pregame introductions were made. "Let's go, Royals!" they chanted, waving blue towels.James Shields ' first pitch to the A's Coco Crisp was a strike, prompting a roar which diminished in a bit when Crisp lined a single to left field. Two outs later, though, the throng was in full-throated thunder -- until Brandon Moss sent the ball soaring high and far to right field.Over the bullpen it flew, a two-run homer launched into the seats on Shields' 0-1 changeup. Moss had hit 25 homers during the regular season.Then it was the Royals' turn against Lester, the formidable left-hander who was 9-3 against them in his career. But Escobar immediately singled, igniting fresh excitement, before Lester got two outs.Aoki, on base after forcing Escobar, stole second and Hosmer walked. Butler ripped a single to left field, scoring Aoki.But now things got confusing. With Gordon at bat, Butler made a false start toward second, stopped, looked at coach Rusty Kuntz and then lumbered away. Lester threw to the pulled-over shortstop and while Butler was caught in a rundown, Hosmer broke for home but was thrown out by Vogt. Catcher Geovany Soto applied the tag easily and the inning was over.During an in-game TV interview, Royals manager Ned Yost said Butler broke too soon, that he was supposed to wait until Lester delivered to the plate. The hope, apparently, was to give Hosmer time to score.One other consequence was that Soto injured his left thumb on the play and had to leave the game, replaced by Derek Norris.The noise meter rose to the deafening level in the third inning as the Royals went ahead, 3-2. Moustakas singled to left, was bunted to second and took third on Aoki's groundout. Cain ripped an RBI double to left and he scored as Hosmer blooped a single over shortstop.The "big game" matchup between Lester and Shields ended in the A's sixth after Fuld's leadoff single and Donaldson's walk. Yordano Ventura, usually a starter, was summoned from the bullpen to relieve Shields.Ventura got behind Moss 2-0 and then delivered a 98-mph fastball that the left-handed hitter sent zooming over the center-field fence an estimated 418 feet away. It was a three-run homer that propelled the A's into a 5-3 lead.Moss had just two home runs in his last 154 at-bats during the regular season. Now he had two blasts in three at-bats in this game along with five RBIs.After Reddick's single, a wild pitch and a fly-out that put him at third, Yost pulled Ventura for Kelvin Herrera, normally his seventh-inning specialist. The manager got a chorus of boos from the crowd as he left the field.Herrera got Vogt to foul out, but Norris singled up the middle and Reddick's run made it 6-3. Crisp, the ninth batter in the inning, also singled to center for another run.Shields, in his five-plus innings, threw 88 pitches -- his lowest total in his two seasons with the Royals.Lester retired 12 straight batters until Infante bunted safely in the seventh.Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
It turned into one of most spine-tingling victories in Royals history.With one out in the 12th, Eric Hosmer tripled off center fielder Sam Fuld's glove as he and left fielder Jonny Gomes nearly collided at the wall. Facing right-hander Dan Otero, Christian Colon hit a chopper toward third that Josh Donaldson couldn't handle. It went for a single as Hosmer scored for an 8-8 tie.Left-hander Fernando Abad replaced Otereo and Alex Gordon fouled out. Right-hander Jason Hammel, usually a starter, took over for Abad and, with Salvador Perez at the plate, Colon stole second. Perez lashed a single down the third-base line to drive in the winning.The Royals surrounded him behind second base and the Royals were going to Anaheim.The A's had gone ahead, 8-7, in the top of the 12th.Royals rookie Brandon Finnegan, a left-hander working his third inning of relief, began the A's 12th by walking Josh Reddick. Jed Lowrie 's bunt moved Reddick to second and Finnegan was relieved by veteran right-hander Jason Frasor.Alberto Callaspo, an ex-Royal, batted for Nate Freiman and Frasor's wild pitch got Reddick to third. Callaspo lined a run-scoring single into left field and a sudden hush fell over The K.The A's took a 7-3 lead into the eighth inning, but neither the crowd nor the Royals would go quietly.Alcides Escobar opened the Royals' eighth against left-hander Jon Lester by reaching base on an infield single and then stole second, bringing the roaring fans to their feet. Escobar moved to third as Nori Aoki bounced out, then scored on Lorenzo Cain 's single.Hosmer's grounder down the line went off first baseman Stephen Vogt 's glove but was foul. Cain stole second, Hosmer walked and A's manager Bob Melvin removed Lester in favor of right-hander Luke Gregerson. Billy Butler drilled a single to right to score Cain and the Royals were within two runs.Pinch-runner Terrance Gore stole second on the next pitch. And Gregerson's next pitch went wild, allowing Hosmer to score and putting Gore at third with one out. The place went wild. Gordon walked and stole second as Perez struck out.With the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, Omar Infante struck out to end the inning.There was more to come. Josh Willingham, batting for Mike Moustakas, opened the ninth inning against left-hander Sean Doolittle by dropping a single into right field. Jarrod Dyson ran for Willingham and was bunted to second by Escobar.Dyson, on 2-1 pitch to Aoki, stole third base. Aoki hit a long out to right field, a sacrifice fly to tie the score, 7-7. Cain lined into the third out.The full house of long-deprived KC fans, clad in blue, gave the Royals a rousing welcome as the pregame introductions were made. "Let's go, Royals!" they chanted, waving blue towels.James Shields ' first pitch to the A's Coco Crisp was a strike, prompting a roar which diminished in a bit when Crisp lined a single to left field. Two outs later, though, the throng was in full-throated thunder -- until Brandon Moss sent the ball soaring high and far to right field.Over the bullpen it flew, a two-run homer launched into the seats on Shields' 0-1 changeup. Moss had hit 25 homers during the regular season.Then it was the Royals' turn against Lester, the formidable left-hander who was 9-3 against them in his career. But Escobar immediately singled, igniting fresh excitement, before Lester got two outs.Aoki, on base after forcing Escobar, stole second and Hosmer walked. Butler ripped a single to left field, scoring Aoki.But now things got confusing. With Gordon at bat, Butler made a false start toward second, stopped, looked at coach Rusty Kuntz and then lumbered away. Lester threw to the pulled-over shortstop and while Butler was caught in a rundown, Hosmer broke for home but was thrown out by Vogt. Catcher Geovany Soto applied the tag easily and the inning was over.During an in-game TV interview, Royals manager Ned Yost said Butler broke too soon, that he was supposed to wait until Lester delivered to the plate. The hope, apparently, was to give Hosmer time to score.One other consequence was that Soto injured his left thumb on the play and had to leave the game, replaced by Derek Norris.The noise meter rose to the deafening level in the third inning as the Royals went ahead, 3-2. Moustakas singled to left, was bunted to second and took third on Aoki's groundout. Cain ripped an RBI double to left and he scored as Hosmer blooped a single over shortstop.The "big game" matchup between Lester and Shields ended in the A's sixth after Fuld's leadoff single and Donaldson's walk. Yordano Ventura, usually a starter, was summoned from the bullpen to relieve Shields.Ventura got behind Moss 2-0 and then delivered a 98-mph fastball that the left-handed hitter sent zooming over the center-field fence an estimated 418 feet away. It was a three-run homer that propelled the A's into a 5-3 lead.Moss had just two home runs in his last 154 at-bats during the regular season. Now he had two blasts in three at-bats in this game along with five RBIs.After Reddick's single, a wild pitch and a fly-out that put him at third, Yost pulled Ventura for Kelvin Herrera, normally his seventh-inning specialist. The manager got a chorus of boos from the crowd as he left the field.Herrera got Vogt to foul out, but Norris singled up the middle and Reddick's run made it 6-3. Crisp, the ninth batter in the inning, also singled to center for another run.Shields, in his five-plus innings, threw 88 pitches -- his lowest total in his two seasons with the Royals.Lester retired 12 straight batters until Infante bunted safely in the seventh.Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
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