The Kansas City Royals scored two runs in the first inning and didn’t score again.

They didn’t have to.

They made those runs stand up against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon, beat the O’s 2-1 and swept the American League Championship Series in four games. The Royals are going to the World Series.

The Royals are unbeaten in this postseason (8-0) and have won 11 in a row in postseason play dating to 1985. That’s the last time they qualified to play extra baseball and they won that World Series, beating the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Yep, they trailed 3-1 in that series and won the last three. Seems like old times again.

 
It’s only a couple of weeks ago that the Royals, in the one-game AL play-in, rallied repeatedly to beat the Oakland A’s 9-8 in 12 innings. Seems like new times, too.

It doesn’t appear they’ll get to engage in a repeat of 1985’s all-Missouri Series, though. The Cardinals took an early lead over the San Francisco Giants but the Giants bullpen blanked them over the final six innings and the Giants won 6-4 on Wednesday night. They lead the NLCS 3-1, with Game 5 on Thursday night and their ace, Madison Bumgarner, pitching.

If the Giants and Royals meet in the World Series, it will mark the first time neither of the participants won 90 games in the regular season.

Today’s question

 
Can the Cardinals claw their way back in against Bumgarner, who shut them out for 7 2/3 innings in Game 1, a 3-0 Giants win?

Answers in the comment box, please.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .