
Royals 3B Mike Moustakas watches his solo home run in the 11th inning Thursday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Thursday night saw another extra-inning playoff victory for Kansas City, with another former Burlington Bees player getting the game-winning hit for the Royals.
On Tuesday it was catcher Salvador Perez who drove in the game-winning run for the Royals — he played 36 games with the 2009 Bees, as I noted in my last post. On Thursday it was third baseman Mike Moustakas with an 11th-inning solo homer to beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-2.
Moustakas played the entire 2008 season with the Bees, batting .272 with 22 HR and 71 RBI in 126 games. That team, which included LHP Danny Duffy (8-4, 2.20 ERA, 102 strikeouts in 81.2 IP/17 starts), won the Midwest League championship.
Two Royals outfielders — CF Lorenzo Cain and RF Nori Aoki — each made two defensive gems. Cain played 15 games with the 2009 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, batting .192 (10-for-52) with nine walks and three RBI.
In Baltimore, the Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 12-3 to take Game 1 of their American League Division Series. Orioles DH Nelson Cruz went 2-for-4 with a HR and 3 RBI.
Cruz played the entire 2003 season with the Kane County Cougars, batting .238 with 20 HR and 85 RBI in 119 games.