Kansas City Royals Countdown: Top 10 Moments of 2014 Postseason Run

7. Eric Hosmer: ALDS Game 2 Hero

After a 12-inning affair in the Wild Card Game and an 11-inning victory in ALDS Game 1, the Kansas City Royals were plenty familiar with extra innings by the time Game 2 of the ALDS had reached that point. So it shouldn’t have surprised anyone when the team jumped out to a lead in the 11th inning.

With one out, Cain legged out an infield single. Then came Hosmer. He pulled the first pitch he saw from Kevin Jepsen into the right-field corner seats for a two-run shot. The line-drive blast gave the Kansas City Royals a 3-1 lead.

The team wasn’t done.

After Gordon drew a two-out walk, Vinnie Pestano came on in relief. Gordon stole second and headed to third when the errant throw went into center field. He came home to score on an infield single by Perez.

That was more than enough breathing room for Holland. He made sure Hosmer’s home run stood up with a pair of quick outs. Kole Calhoun extended the game when he reached on an error. Mike Trout came up but—thanks to the insurance run—couldn’t tie the game if he wanted to.

Instead, he struck out to end the game—something that would happen again just days later to send the Kansas City Royals to the ALCS for the first time since 1985.