ALCS Game 1 Overflow #2: Royals 5, Orioles 4, End of 5th

After the Royals dropped four runs on Baltimore in the top of the third, the Orioles answered with a run of their own after Nick Markakis led off the bottom half of the third with a double and was eventually plated by an Adam Jones liner to left.

The Royals and Orioles both got runners on in the subsequent fourth inning, but the Royals would tack on another run in the fifth thanks to a Lorenzo Cain double--a product of Cain's speed moreso than the distance he hit the ball--and a couple advancements on outs, Butler's sacrifice fly to right field being the one that drove him home.

Alex Gordon followed with a single rifled back up the middle but was picked off at first to end the inning.

Baltimore starting pitcher Chris Tillman made it through just one out in the fifth, as Buck Showalter went to the pen with the eventual fifth run standing at third base.

Markakis kicked off the bottom of the fifth with a bloop single to shallow left, and Alejandro De Aza immediately followed with a grounder that made it past first as Eric Hosmer was holding Markakis on first. Shields sawed off Adam Jones's bat with a two-seamer on the fists and got the force at third. With the powerful Nelson Cruz stepping to the plate, Shields left a change up, and Nelson Cruz ripped double off the wall in left that plated just one but left runners on second and third for Steve Pearce. Pearce worked the count full before Shields walked him on a breaking ball in the dirt to load the bases.

With the go-ahead run stepping to the plate in the form of J.J. Hardy, Dave Eiland, the battery, and the infield met at the mound. Deciding that the pressure wasn't high enough, Shields ran the count full before striking out Hardy on a slider that just caught the inside of the plate for the second out.

Unfortunately, Ryan Flaherty ripped a single down the line in right that Aoki slid to stop and hold Flaherty to one. Of course, two runs scored in the process, cutting the lead to one.