Royals sweep to World Series

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After a playoff drought lasting 10,565 days, the Kansas City Royals are going back to the World Series.

They are doing it in record fashion, with eight wins to open the postseason.

The Royals scored two runs in the first inning without getting the ball out of the infield, then held on for a 2-1 victory Wednesday over the Baltimore Orioles to complete a four-game sweep in the American League Championship Series.

No other team ever began a postseason with eight wins in a row.

'I don't think we're done yet,” Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said.

Kansas City will face either the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, which begins Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals last went to the World Series in 1985, when they beat the Cardinals in seven games. They then went 29 years between playoff appearances.

The Orioles, who won the AL East title and swept Detroit in a division series, were swept for the first time in 20 postseason series.

'It's disappointing and frustrating - not frustrating - but disappointing for our guys and our fans,” Orioles Manager Buck Showalter said. 'You saw how close the games were. It's more a testament of what they did.”

Royals starter Jason Vargas pitched effectively into sixth inning, and then the Kansas City's star bullpen trio took over. Right-handers Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings to close the win, with Holland posting his fourth save in the series.

Vargas gave up one run and two hits while walking three and striking out six in 5 1/3 innings.

'The only thing you dream more about is winning the World Series,” Vargas said. 'It's everything I imagined. I was ready to go from the time you wake up. I was just counting down the minutes. The most relaxing thing was getting into my routine and getting ready for the game.”

Once Vargas exited, Manager Ned Yost turned the one-run advantage over to his dominating relievers.

'The starting pitching was phenomenal,” Yost said of his rotation in the series. 'The bullpen was unbelievable.”

The Royals played their normal spectacular defense, which included Gold Glove left fielder Alex Gordon doing a face plant into the fence while catching Hardy's liner in the fifth inning.

The opportunistic Royals scored two runs with just one hit in the first inning. The runs scored on Eric Hosmer's fielder's-choice grounder.

Hosmer hit a sharp grounder to first baseman Steve Pearce, who threw home. Escobar kicked the ball loose from catcher Caleb Joseph on his slide, which also allowed Aoki to score. Hosmer was credited with an RBI, and Aoki's run was unearned.