ANAHEIM, Calif. - Eric Hosmer got his souvenir home run ball back while he stood on the field for a postgame interview, Angel Stadiums silence broken only by a small band of blue-clad fans chanting Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!Hosmer savored the moment, realizing that almost nobody expected the unassuming Kansas City Royals to be collecting keepsakes and plotting playoff sweeps a few days ago.But with three extra-inning wins in four remarkable days, the long-downtrodden Royals have climbed from the depths of a 29-year playoff absence to the brink of the AL Championship Series.Hosmer hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning, and Kansas City took a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series with a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.Its a huge sigh of relief, and its a big swing for the guys, Hosmer said.Alex Gordon had an early run-scoring single and Salvador Perez added an RBI infield single in the 11th for the Royals, who became the first team in major league history to win three straight extra-inning playoff games. In its first post-season appearance since 1985, Kansas City is on a playoff roll a€” and the majors best regular-season team has not been able to stop it.Thats what the cool part of this has been a€” everyone has had their time, said Hosmer, who had three hits and scored two runs. Theyve had their moment when theyve made a big play or stepped up and did something big. A lot of the times, it was with our back against the wall. Most of the time it was with our season on the line.Game 3 in the best-of-five series is Sunday in Kansas City, where Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson faces James Shields.After two wins in the majors toughest ballpark for visitors, the Royals have the once-mighty Angels on the edge of elimination, largely thanks to a pitching staff that has limited baseballs highest-scoring offence to just three runs in 22 innings.The Royals finished last in the majors with only 95 regular-season homers, but theyve won back-to-back playoff games on 11th-inning shots over the right-field wall at the Big A.After 10 innings of intense baseball dominated by pitching and defence, Lorenzo Cain beat out a one-out infield single off losing pitcher Kevin Jepsen. Hosmer smacked a no-doubt homer to right field, setting off a celebration for several dozen blue-clad Royals fans in a sea of red at the Big A.Albert Pujols had a tying RBI single in the sixth for the Angels, but theyve been mostly helpless against the Royals. Los Angeles, which led the big leagues with 98 wins, has just 10 hits in the series a€” none by Mike Trout or Josh Hamilton.Only eight teams in major league history have rallied to win a playoff series after losing the first two games.There are some guys that right now arent attacking the ball where they can for various reasons. There is not one cure-all thats going to get everybody swinging the bat, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. We havent done a lot of the things weve done during the season, and we put a lot of pressure on our pitching staff.Trout got a chance to help in the 11th after second baseman Omar Infante made a throwing error on Kole Calhouns two-out grounder. But the AL MVP favourite struck out against Greg Holland, finishing his second straight 0-for-4 night in his first playoff series.Going back to the regular season, the Angels have lost five straight games for the first time all season.This series is not over, said Pujols, who is 1 for 8. Obviously, you dont want to go down 0-2 and go to the other place, but anything can happen. Hopefully our bats get going. ... We just need to catch some breaks. If we do, well be fine.The Royals are the first team to play in three consecutive extra-inning playoff games since the 1980 NLCS between Houston and Philadelphia, which had four straight. They followed up their 12-inning wild-card victory over Oakland with a series-opening win on Mike Moustakas 11th-inning homer, and Hosmer kept it going.Brandon Finnegan pitched a hitless 10th for the Royals, and the 2014 first-round draft pick earned the win. Holland worked the 11th for his second save of the series.Along with more lights-out pitching, strong defence again was a huge factor for the Royals.After C.J. Crons leadoff double against Wade Davis in the eighth, Angels pinch-runner Collin Cowgill decided to test the arm of centre fielder Jarrod Dyson, who had just entered the game. Dyson threw out Cowgill at third after catching Chris Iannettas fly to left-centre.Thats huge. That changes momentum. That changes everything in a game right there, Hosmer said. Thats a big-time play.Two innings later, shortstop Alcides Escobar turned a tough double play after stretching high to glove an off-target throw.In a matchup of impressive rookie starters, Yordano Ventura pitched seven innings of five-hit ball for the Royals, and Matt Shoemaker threw six innings of five-hit ball for Los Angeles.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: RHP Kelvin Herrera has a flexor strain in his right forearm after throwing just five pitches in Game 1. The reliever will be re-evaluated when the teams get to Kansas City.Angels: Hamilton went 0 for 4 with a double-play grounder to end the 10th, dropping to 0 for 9 in his first playoff series with Los Angeles. The slugger played just once in the final 22 games of the regular season due to upper-body injuries.UP NEXTShields started the Royals wild-card playoff win Tuesday, so hell be on normal rest. Los Angeles is hoping for solid work from the up-and-down Wilson. Dwight Clark Jersey . Gonzalez participated in his final game on Sunday, Atlantas 21-20 defeat at the hands of the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers, having posted four catches for 46 yards. Earl Mitchell Jersey . LOUIS -- The St. www.officialauthenticsf49ersonline.com/A...-SMITH-49ERS-JERSEY/. -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. NaVorro Bowman Jersey . -- Dee Ford prefers to keep things simple: Play hard and fast, and let others worry about his NFL draft stock. Laken Tomlinson Jersey . As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Dwight Howards face might have been stinging from Kevin Garnett ramming his head into it, and now his ears were ringing as fans directed loud boos toward him.Howard wasnt tempted to silence them by demanding the ball at the expense of Houstons offence. He was after a win, not revenge.As long as we win the game, thats all that matters, Howard said. Weve got 82 games and the playoffs. Ill do my damage when its time.James Harden scored 30 points, carrying Houston on a night when Howard did little after fighting with Garnett, and the Rockets beat the slumping Brooklyn Nets 113-99 on Monday.Garnett was ejected in the first quarter after head-butting Howard in the face and throwing the ball at him, while Howard received a technical foul after appearing to punch or slap Garnett in the neck.Howard finished with eight points and five rebounds, but the Rockets didnt need much in the middle while dominating from the outside with 16 3-pointers in 40 attempts.The only time they really were stopped is when referees halted the action to review video of the scuffle.I think weve been locked in these last few games and so a little hesitation wasnt going to stop us from our goal, and that was to win the game, Harden said.Mason Plumlee scored a career-high 24 points for the Nets, who lost their sixth straight.Kevin did a lot for us, got us going, Plumlee said of Garnett, who didnt speak to reporters. Those are the kind of games as a team you want to win and we didnt do that.Houston has won four in a row, all by double digits, and blew away a Nets team that had held its previous eight opponents under 100 points, the longest streak in the NBA this season.The Nets consistently lost Houstons shooters on the perimeter, and the Rockets easily surpassed their NBA-best average of 11.8 3-pointers per game.They already had 17 points before Garnett became angry after he was called for a foul against Howard with 7:53 left in the first quarter. The players lightly shoved each other before Garnett threw the ball into Howards back, and as the players went face-to-face, Garnett rammed his head into the area near Howards mouth.ddddddddddddHoward responded with his right hand, and even after the players were separated, Garnett tried to get at Howard again before being escorted toward the locker room.In the good old days that was a play-on, now they throw people out, Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. I dont think it was that big of a deal.Howard received only a technical foul, with Nets coach Lionel Hollins saying officials told him it didnt look like Howard threw a punch. If the NBA decides otherwise after a review, he could be suspended Wednesday when the Rockets return to Orlando, his longtime NBA home.Thats not up to me, Howard said.The Rockets broke a tie atop the Southwest Division with the Memphis Grizzlies, whom the Nets host on Wednesday as Hollins faces his former team.TIP-INSRockets: A strange bit of scheduling had the Rockets in New York for the second time in five nights — but with a trip back to Houston in the middle. The Rockets won at the Knicks on Thursday, had to go home to play Utah on Saturday, then turned around and came right back to New York.Nets: Hollins, before the game, on the Nets offensive struggles: We have established an identity. We dont make shots. That is an identity. Among their problems, they came in ranked 25th in both points per game and 3-point shooting percentage. We have guys who have been great shooters or good shooters throughout their careers wherever theyve played and I dont know, maybe Im the problem, Hollins said. I dont shoot them, but Im sure that behind closed doors without the microphone on some players may say that Im the problem that they cant shoot.KEVIN ON KEVINMcHale had praise before the game for Garnett, who started as a teenager in Minnesota when McHale was the general manager and is now in his 20th season.He said, Im going to play longer in the NBA than Im old right now, McHale recalled. I said, You are absolutely out of your mind, but he did it.UP NEXTRockets: Visit Orlando on Wednesday.Nets: Host Memphis on Wednesday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '