Los Angeles Angels vs. Kansas City Royals: Keys for Each Team to Win ALDS Game 3

After a 29-year exile from October, the Kansas City Royals are on the verge of sweeping past the Los Angeles Angels and storming into the American League Championship Series. 

The Royals are taking apart the Angels, the team with the best record in the regular season, thanks to a combination of unreal speed, perfectly timed home runs and lights-out pitching. With Game 3 of the American League Division Series looming at 6:37 p.m. ET on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, the Angels are sitting in an 0-2 hole. 

Of the 22 teams that have ended up in such a situation, only four have found their way out, according to Zach Helfand of the Los Angeles Times. Here are the three keys for each club as the Royals look to put an end to the Angels' 2014 season, while the AL West winners hope to extend it for at least another day.

Key No. 1 for the Angels: Score 1st to Quiet the Home Crowd

Ed Zurga/Getty Images

It's going to be loud at Kauffman Stadium—really loud. 

As Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times argues, the Royals have actually become the "team of destiny" in this set with the Angels. That's a remarkable turn of events considering that Los Angeles won 98 games in 2014, which was the most in baseball. Now, the Royals are on the verge of continuing their dark-horse run into the ALCS, and sending the AL West winners home for the winter on an extremely disappointing note. 

The best way for the Angels to silence the home crowd is to strike first. The Royals claimed the lead in the opening two games of the series, and if that happens again in Game 3, the noise level will be out of control in Kansas City. 

Los Angeles will also want to grab an early edge because that's likely to be their best chance to get on the board. Kansas City's bullpen has been airtight not just in the ALDS but also throughout the season.

Key No. 1 for the Royals: Keep Running

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

The Royals have been running all over the place in the postseason. 

The club set a playoff record in the AL Wild Card Game with seven steals. Remarkably, those stolen bases came from seven different players. The team then went on to swipe four more bases in the first two games of the ALDS. 

Angels manager Mike Scioscia is all too familiar with the Royals' aggressive base running, as he explained to The Associated Press (via Fox Sports). 

''It's the way their team is built. One of their best tools is their ability to create on the base paths, and they do it as well as anybody I've seen." 

Another successful showing on the bases in Game 3 could be exactly what it takes to propel the Royals into the ALCS.

Key No. 2 for the Angels: A Fast Start for C.J. Wilson

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Game 3 could get ugly fast for C.J. Wilson. 

The left-hander starter has had all sorts of problems in the early frames in 2014. In the first inning, Wilson owned a 5.58 ERA. It got even worse in the second, as the 33-year-old posted an unsightly 6.14 ERA. Avoiding an early collapse is crucial if the Angels are going to claim Game 3. 

There's also Wilson's less-than-impressive postseason track record that he'll be looking to discard. The lefty has a 1-5 record and a 4.82 ERA in 10 playoff outings.

Key No. 2 for the Royals: Make Another Game-Changing Play on Defense

One of the Royals' calling cards in 2014 has been the team's incredible defense. That was on full display in the eighth inning of Game 2 when center fielder Jarrod Dyson uncorked a laser throw to nail Collin Cowgill as he tried to tag up and advance from second base to third. 

Dyson's strike altered the dynamic of the inning and the entire game, as the Angels went from potentially having a runner on third and one out to nobody on base and two outs. 

“That was a big-time play," said first baseman Eric Hosmer (via Zach Helfand of the Los Angeles Times). "He gave us a lot of momentum.”

The Royals have the gloves and the arms to make another momentum-swinging play in Game 3.

Key No. 3 for the Angels: Call Upon Albert Pujols' Postseason Experience

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Albert Pujols has a ridiculous amount of postseason experience. 

In eight trips, the first baseman has racked up 275 at-bats and posted a .324 average with a 1.026 OPS. During his most recent go-around with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, Pujols clubbed five home runs on the way to winning the Fall Classic. 

The Angels, who last made it to the postseason in 2009, need Pujols to set the tone in Game 3 as the club enters a must-win matchup.

Key No. 3 for the Royals: Another Big Game for Eric Hosmer

Apparently Eric Hosmer is a big fan of the postseason. 

The first baseman hit .333 in the final 10 games of the regular season, as the Royals locked up the No. 1 wild-card spot. Once the playoffs began, Hosmer went off. In the AL Wild Card Game, the left-handed hitter went 3-for-4 with two walks and two runs. In the ALDS, Hosmer has added three more hits, including the go-ahead homer in the 11th inning of Game 2. 

It would only be fitting if the first-round pick from the 2008 MLB draft came up clutch again with the Royals going for the sweep. 

Note: All stats ad videos courtesy of MLB.com. 

If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.