The 2014

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

were two best-of-five-game series in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

’s (MLB) 2014 postseason to determine the participating teams in the

2014 American League Championship Series The 2014 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff in Major League Baseball's 2014 postseason pitting the second-seeded Baltimore Orioles against the fourth-seeded Kansas City Royals for the American League pennant and th ...

. The

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

(divisional winners, seeded 1–3 based on regular season record) as well as the

Wild Card game The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was instituted in 2012. This became a best ...

winning

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

played in the two series. TBS carried all the games. These matchups were: * (1)

(West Division champions) vs. (4)

(Wild Card Game winner): Royals win series 3–0. * (2)

(East Division champions) vs. (3)

(Central Division champions): Orioles win series 3–0. This was the first postseason played under the post-1993 divisional alignment in which neither the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

nor the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

competed in an ALDS. It was also the Royals' first appearance in the current version of the ALDS, as their last previous postseason appearance had come in 1985, prior to its conception (although the team had played in one of the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

ALDS necessitated by that year's player strike and the resulting split season). It was also the Orioles' first ALDS win since

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. Both the Angels and the Royals, and the Tigers and the Orioles, met for the first time in the postseason. The Royals went on to defeat the Orioles in the ALCS, then lost the 2014 World Series to the National League champion

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. To date, the 2014 ALDS marks the last postseason appearance for the Angels and is also the most recent series in which the Orioles won a postseason game.

Matchups

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Kansas City Royals

Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Tigers

Los Angeles vs. Kansas City

Game 1

Mike Moustakas Michael Christopher Moustakas (; born September 11, 1988) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, and L ...

, a native of Los Angeles (a handful of miles away from Anaheim), hit a home run deep into right field in the 11th inning to give the Royals a 3–2 victory in Game 1. Closer Greg Holland, who arrived during the fourth inning following a trip to North Carolina for the birth of his son, pitched a perfect bottom half of the 11th to seal the Royals' victory. Alcides Escobar had an RBI double in the third inning, allowing Moustakas to score, and Omar Infante's sacrifice fly allowed

Alex Gordon Alexander Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Prior to playing professional ...

to score in the fifth. The Angels' only scores were home runs from

Chris Iannetta Christopher Domenic Iannetta (, ; born April 8, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Seattle Mariners, and Arizona Diamondbac ...

in the third and

David Freese David Richard Freese (born April 28, 1983) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He began his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009, where, two seasons later, he was a key player during the 2 ...

in the fifth. This game also started a string of postseason games in which the Royals defense would make a number of highlight reel defensive plays. Outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Nori Aoki each had a pair of great catches, which slowed down the Angels' high powered offense.

Game 2

Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer and

Salvador Pérez Salvador Johan Perez Diaz (born May 10, 1990), nicknamed "El Niño" and "Salvy", is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball catcher and first baseman for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a nine-time MLB All-Sta ...

recorded an RBI infield single in the 11th inning, as the Royals won Game 2, 4–1. Kansas City scored first on

's RBI single in the second, but the Angels tied the game in the sixth with

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (, ; born December 11, 1985) is a Dominicans, Dominican professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager and former first baseman and designated hitter who is the manager of the Leones del Escogido of the Domin ...

' RBI single. Kansas City again came up with a timely defensive gem. In the bottom of the eighth with no outs and pinch runner Collin Cowgill at second base, Jarrod Dyson caught a fly ball to left-center field off

, and then threw a picture perfect strike to

at third to double-up Cowgill, who tried to advance on the play.

Game 3

The Angels took their only lead of this series with a one out home run by

Mike Trout Michael Nelson Trout (born August 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Trout is an 11-time Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star, three-time American League (A ...

in the top of the first off James Shields, but C. J. Wilson gave up a triple in the bottom half to

and was immediately knocked out of the game. Eric Hosmer would add his second home run of this series, a two-run home run in the third off Hector Santiago, to make it 5–1 Royals. The Angels cut it to 5–2 in the fourth on

's home run, but in the bottom of the inning, Mike Morin allowed a one-out home run to

, then two singles to put runners on first and third before Lorenzo Cain's sacrifice fly made it 7–2 Royals. They made it 8–2 in the sixth off Kevin Jepsen on Nori Aoki's RBI single that scored Omar Infante from second. The Angels scored the last run of the series in the eighth off Wade Davis on

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 2007 to 2015, most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers teams ...

's groundout with runners on second and third as the Royals completed a three-game sweep to punch their ticket to the 2014 ALCS. The defense again showed up for Kansas City. The highlights of the game included back-to-back diving catches in the fifth inning by Lorenzo Cain with runners on base. As of 2024, this remains the Angels’ most recent postseason appearance. In addition, this was the Angels last postseason game with

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

in their name, as they have simply been known as 'Los Angeles Angels' since

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Composite line score

2014 ALDS (3–0):

over

Baltimore vs. Detroit

Game 1

Nelson Cruz Nelson Ramón Cruz Martínez (born July 1, 1980), nicknamed "Boomstick", is a Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Ranger ...

's two-run home run in the bottom of the first started the scoring for the Orioles. The Tigers tied the score in the top of the second on back-to-back home runs by Victor Martinez and J. D. Martinez, but Baltimore pulled ahead on an RBI single by

Nick Markakis Nicholas William Markakis ( ) (born November 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves. Markakis was the Orioles' fir ...

in the bottom half. The score remained unchanged until Baltimore scored in the seventh on a home run from J. J. Hardy to make the score 4–2. In the top of the eighth,

Ian Kinsler Ian Michael Kinsler (; born June 22, 1982) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles A ...

singled off of

Darren O'Day Darren Christopher O'Day (born October 22, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets, Texas Rangers (baseball), Te ...

, but was doubled off of first on a line drive by

Torii Hunter Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. Hunter currently serves as Special Assistant to Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian. He played in Major League ...

. The play proved to be critical as the next batter,

Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed Miggy, is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins a ...

, homered. In the bottom half, after a one out double by

Alejandro De Aza Alejandro Alberto De Aza Ceda (born April 11, 1984) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ...

, Joba Chamberlain relieved starter

Max Scherzer Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984), nicknamed "Mad Max", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tige ...

and a crucial error by Andrew Romine allowed De Aza to score and Adam Jones to reach base. Jones stole second, then scored on

's single. Joakim Soria relieved Chamberlain and a single and intentional walk loaded the bases before Ryan Flaherty's single and

Nick Hundley Nicholas John Hundley (born September 8, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current front office executive. He is currently a special assistant to the general manager for the Texas Rangers. He played in Major League Ba ...

's groundout scored a run each, then Jonathan Schoop's double scored two more. Phil Coke relieved Soria and threw a wild pitch that moved Schoop to third, then walked

before De Aza, in his second at-bat of the inning, doubled to score both men. Baltimore scored a team postseason record and LDS record eight runs in the inning. This record would be tied the next day in the Cardinals/Dodgers NLDS series. With the game out of reach,

Tommy Hunter Thomas James Hunter, CM, O.Ont (born March 20, 1937) is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman". Career In 1956, he began performing as a rhythm guitarist on the CBC Television show, ''Country Hoedown''. ''Th ...

came on and pitched out of a bases loaded jam to seal the game.

Game 2

Nick Markakis' two-run home run off Tiger starter

Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, and New York M ...

in the third put the Orioles on the board. But in the top of the fourth,

singled, Cabrera doubled him to third, Victor Martinez singled to score Hunter, J. D. Martinez homered to put Detroit on top 4–2 and Nick Castellanos homered to push the lead to three runs before the first out was recorded. After the next two outs were recorded, Rajai Davis singled and chased Baltimore starter

Wei-Yin Chen Wei-Yin Chen (; born July 21, 1985) is a Taiwanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons, Ch ...

in the process. Kevin Gausman came on and got the final out of the inning without further damage to keep the score 5–2. A two out RBI single by J. J. Hardy cut the score to 5–3 but Verlander escaped without another run crossing the plate. The score stayed at 5–3 until the top of the eighth when Victor Martinez doubled home Hunter to push the lead back to three runs. But for the second straight day Baltimore would fight back against the Tiger bullpen in the bottom of the eighth. Joba Chamberlain came on and got De Aza to ground out, but Adam Jones was hit by a pitch, Nelson Cruz singled Jones to second, and Steve Pearce singled in Jones to make it a 6–4 game. Joakim Soria came on in relief of Chamberlain and walked Hardy to load the bases for former Tiger Delmon Young. Young unloaded the bases with a go-ahead three-run double to put the Orioles back on top 7–6. Zach Britton came on and pitched a perfect ninth to send Baltimore to Detroit up two games to none.

Game 3

Adam Jones' single and Nelson Cruz's two-run home run that just stayed fair down the right field line off David Price in the sixth broke a scoreless tie and the backs of the Tigers as Baltimore completed a three-game sweep. The Tigers got back-to-back leadoff doubles from Victor Martinez and J. D. Martinez in the ninth to pull within a run. After Bryan Holaday struck out, an intentional walk to Nick Castellanos put the winning run on base. Britton got Hernan Perez to ground into the game-ending, series-ending double play, sending the Orioles to their first ALCS appearance in 17 years. With the loss, the Tigers lost their first ever ALDS. In their previous four appearances, they advanced to the ALCS every time. As of 2024, this remains the last postseason win for the Orioles.

Composite line score

2014 ALDS (3–0):

over

References

External links

2014 MLB postseason schedule at ESPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:2014 American League Division Series

American League Division Series Baltimore Orioles postseason Detroit Tigers postseason Kansas City Royals postseason Los Angeles Angels postseason

2010s in Anaheim, California 2010s in sports in Orange County, California 2010s in Baltimore 2014 in Detroit Baseball competitions in Detroit 2010s in Kansas City, Missouri