Gordon, Moustakas homer in 10th for another extra-inning Royals win (VIDEO)

The baseball tore a hole through rain and wind and the mid-October chill before it splashed into a stunned sea of orange. In the lower bowl of Camden Yards, a rowdy pocket of Royals fans leaped to their feet. All around them sat Orioles fans stunned by the 10th-inning feat of Alex Gordon with his go-ahead homer in an 8-6 victory Friday on the first night of the American League Championship Series.

“That’s what we love,” outfielder Jarrod Dyson said. “To come to somebody else’s home and silence their crowd.”

The atmosphere inside the park was funereal as Gordon rounded the bases. He had already cracked a three-run double more than three hours earlier. Now, the Royals’ dugout exhibited signs of ecstasy after his blast off Baltimore reliever Darren O’Day. For good measure, Mike Moustakas added a two-run shot against Brian Matusz to spirit the crowd toward the exits.

Does this script sound familiar? It should by now. The Royals stormed into enemy territory, stretched the game into extra innings and won on a home run.

Think about that, about the preposterousness of this power revival. The team that never homered in the regular season has become reliant upon them in October. Four of their five games this postseason have extended past regulation. Kansas City has won all four. After 29 years without a postseason, they are undefeated in these playoffs.

“It’s someone different every night,” first baseman Eric Hosmer said. “Someone stepping up, someone getting a big swing for us.”

Their latest, late-night escapade may have been their most improbable, as they frittered away both an early lead and a golden opportunity to go ahead in the ninth. They received a shaky, five-inning, four-run performance from starter James Shields and experienced a hiccup from rookie Brandon Finnegan. When Orioles closer Zack Britton melted in the ninth, the Royals appeared unable to capitalize, leaving the bases loaded after Britton walked three batters.

Yet they held the line, buoyed by a pair of two-inning stints from dynamite relievers Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis. Greg Holland yielded a run in the ninth but still got the save.

And in the end, the Royals relied on the skill they lack the most. Baltimore led the majors in home runs this season. Kansas City ranked last. Yet the Royals swatted three homers Friday — from Gordon, Moustakas and Alcides Escobar — and their high-powered opponents could not manage one.

They also demonstrated a mettle tested during the first few games in October. They maintained their resolve on a night when they could have crumbled.

“It’s always fun to prove people wrong,” outfielder Lorenzo Cain said. “Some people thought we might not have made it this far. But we’ll keep pushing, keep fighting as a team.”

The crowd was dormant in the early going as the Royals surged ahead. Then their manager stuck with his ace for a rocky stretch in the fifth. Their defense blinked in the sixth. Their hitters jawed with home-plate umpire Tim Timmons in the seventh.

The Royals handed Shields a hefty edge as the bottom of the fifth began. He was set to traverse the Orioles lineup for the third time this evening, the juncture in which hitters pick the bones of faltering starters. Shields could not complete this inning without incident. He gave up an RBI double to Nelson Cruz and then issued a walk to load the bases.

“I felt I made a lot of good pitches today,” Shields said. “They were just finding holes, and a couple of jam-shots here and there. Then they got a couple of hits when they needed to.”

Out in the bullpen, Finnegan stirred to life. Pitching coach Dave Eiland huddled with Shields on the mound. Shields responded by icing shortstop J.J. Hardy with a full-count cutter. The pitch recorded an out, but also inspired manager Ned Yost to stick with Shields. Left-handed hitter Ryan Flaherty smacked a two-run single as Finnegan idled in the bullpen.

Shields “was just laboring a little bit,” Yost said. “He started getting pitches up” in the strike zone.

Finnegan would get his chance in the next inning. Asked to protect a one-run advantage, he walked the leadoff hitter, the free-swinging Jonathan Schoop, who walked only 13 times in the regular season. A bloop single followed, and Orioles manager Buck Showalter signaled for Alejandro De Aza to bunt.

Schoop looked eager to advance. So eager that catcher Salvador Perez caught him drifting from the bag with a throw. Schoop broke for third, and caught a break. The peg from shortstop Escobar clunked off his back. Schoop was safe at third, and scored on a infield bloop single by De Aza that neither Escobar nor second baseman Omar Infante could snag.

“I tried to dive, but I couldn’t get it,” Escobar said. “That’s part of the game.”

Herrera yanked the Royals from the jam by inducing a double-play from Cruz, but the game was now tied. It was the first hint of rustiness after a lengthy layoff. Both clubs idled for four days after completing first-round sweeps. The Orioles rested at home, granted the advantage in this series based on their 96 wins and American League East title. The Royals became an objection of local adoration and nationwide fascination.

On Friday they turned to Shields, their staff leader and clubhouse touchstone. He had stumbled in the American League Wild Card Game, but responded with six hard-earned innings in the clinching game of the American League Division Series. But when the day started, his mere presence on the mound appeared in doubt — the entire game appeared in doubt.

The specter of rain loomed all day. Drizzle fell on Charm City in the early afternoon, and the gray skies canceled batting practice. The Royals shuttled along the bowels of the stadium to the indoor cage. At 7:12 p.m., the crowd roared as the groundskeepers cleared the tarp. The only delay related from TBS cameras shining on center field at first pitch.

The rain did not arrive until the middle innings. By then, the Royals had grabbed the lead. Escobar sparked a four-run third inning with a leadoff home run against Orioles starter Chris Tillman. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Gordon replayed a moment from last week at Kauffman Stadium.

In the final game of the ALDS, Gordon ignited a nine-inning bash with a three-run, first-inning double. This time, he waited two more innings. Tillman nearly finished their encounter with a 2-2 curveball, but the pitch just missed high. His full-count fastball bore in on Gordon’s hands and shattered his bat. The result stilled the flag-waving masses here.

Gordon managed to pull the pitch down the right-field line. Outfielder Nick Markakis appeared to lose the ball, either blinded by the stadium lights or confused by the broken bat. Either way, the ball dropped for a double. All three Royals scored, including Butler, chugging along as the caboose.

“We’re getting some guys to step up with some big swings in some tough moments,” Butler said.

The Orioles chipped away and chipped away. They chased Shields and sullied Finnegan’s sterling playoff resume to tie the game.

Pitching with the game tied in the ninth, Britton parceled out three walks. At one point, he threw 12 consecutive balls. Hosmer snapped the string with an errant swing at a 1-0 pitch, and later grounded into a force play at the plate.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter intervened to prevent further damage by Britton. He called upon right-handed sidearmer O’Day, a ground-ball specialist, to face Butler. The outcome appeared preordained. Butler grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that brought Camden Yards back to life.

The silence was not far away. Gordon went deep in the next inning. Moustakas followed soon after. Holland allowed the Orioles a chance to dream, but snuffed that out in due time.

On the surface, this victory may appear improbable. For the Royals, in this October, the improbable no longer is.

“All these games are big,” Gordon said. “There’s a lot of emotions in it. Our team is just having fun with it. It seems like every night there’s somebody else stepping up.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2014 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Gordon, Moustakas homer in 10th for another extra-inning Royals win (VIDEO)."