Angels vs. Royals: Game 3 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2014 MLB Playoffs

It didn't take long for the Kansas City Royals to prove their dramatic Wild Card Game comeback victory was no fluke, as an 8-3 win on Sunday night capped off a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels. A mix of efficiency on the mound and an early offensive onslaught helped produce the huge victory.

The Kansas City Chiefs tweeted congratulations to the team that calls the same city home:

Things didn't start out in the Royals' favor, as starting pitcher James Shields faced the dangerous Mike Trout with one out in the first inning. Over 400 feet later, Los Angeles was on the board with a 1-0 lead. MLB tweeted a snapshot of the jack:

Shields was able to recover after the early score, forcing Albert Pujols to ground out and Howie Kendrick to foul out. It certainly looked as though the Angels wouldn't go down without a fight, but Kansas City's starting lineup had a different idea.

Singles by Norichika Aoki and Lorenzo Cain put two runners aboard in the bottom half of the first, and with two outs, Billy Butler remained patient at the plate, earning a walk and loading the bases for Alex Gordon. With ice water flowing through his veins, Gordon rose to the occasion, clearing the bases with a double and advancing to third on the throw.

Suddenly, the Royals were up 3-1, and ESPN Stats & Info tweeted exactly how long it's been since any member of the team recorded three RBI in a postseason game:

Shields went back to work in the second inning for the Royals. Erick Aybar got to the right-hander, singling to center; however, Shields was able to get both David Freese and C.J. Cron to strike out swinging and forced Josh Hamilton to fly out to right.

The pitching was far better from the Angels in the second. Yet, the team continued an odd rotation on the mound. After pulling C.J. Wilson in the first, Angels manager Mike Scioscia tabbed Vinnie Pestano to take over. Hector Santiago followed, taking the mound in second-inning relief.

Sports Illustrated tweeted the interesting occurrence:

The carousel would not prove to be beneficial for Los Angeles.

Another one-two-three inning from Shields kept the Royals in front by two, but that wouldn't last long. Aoki earned the leadoff walk to begin the bottom of the third, and Eric Hosmer made Santiago pay for his miscue, sending one deep to center for a two-run jack, making it 5-1. That led to yet another Angels pitching change.

Pujols led off the fourth inning with a home run to left, narrowing the team's deficit to three runs. Shields found himself in more hot water shortly after, as Aybar reached on a double and Freese took first after being hit by a wild pitch. Still, the pitcher held strong, causing Hamilton to ground into a fielder's choice and ending the top of the inning by striking out Cron for the second time.

The Royals offense continued to utilize the long ball in the bottom of the fourth, as Mike Moustakas took Mike Morin deep to right for another homer. Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweeted his thoughts on the efforts of two Kansas City sluggers:

Before the inning came to a close, Cain's sacrifice fly to left scored Alcides Escobar to increase the Royals' lead to 7-2.

Two more strong innings on the mound from Shields brought the game to the bottom of the sixth. That's when the Royals offense took over again, as a single by Aoki scored Omar Infante for the team's eighth run of the game.

This brought Cory Rasmus into the contest for Los Angeles, and Sports Illustrated kept up with the ongoing pitching parade:

Rasmus finished the inning strong for the Angels, looking like the team's best pitcher on the day. On the other side, Shields was pulled from the game before the top of the seventh with a pitch count of 105. Kelvin Herrera entered in relief and made quick work of the Los Angeles hitters.

Another solid inning from Rasmus took the game to the top of the eighth, and the Angels offense quickly took advantage of setup man Wade Davis. A double by Kendrick started things off, and after a single by Aybar, a Hamilton ground out scored the lead runner. However, the damage was limited to just one run, as Cron struck out once again to end the inning.

Right-handed pitcher Greg Holland was called upon to close out the game—and the series—for the Royals in the top of the ninth. Hank Conger struck out swinging, Calhoun lined out and Trout struck out swinging to end the game and send the Royals deeper into October.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweeted the unthinkable conclusion:

The series brought about an unfortunate ending for the Angels. There were plenty of high postseason expectations for the team after finishing the regular season with an MLB-best 98 wins. However, their three-game losing streak heading into the playoffs continued to linger.

The offseason will be full of questions for Los Angeles, as an ultra-talented club failed to notch a single postseason victory against its wild-card-winning opponent.

As for the Royals, they move on to the American League Championship Series to take on the Baltimore Orioles. This best-of-seven series starts on Friday and puts Kansas City just four wins away from a berth in the World Series.

Royals manager Ned Yost was gushing about his crew after the game, per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com): "I've never seen this group of kids so confident on the big stage. It's really fun to see their development and watch them come into the postseason and just really take their game to the next level."

That's not too shabby for a team that hasn't reached this stage of the playoffs for 29 years, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

This team is firing on all cylinders at the right time and has plenty of confidence and momentum after sweeping arguably the best club in baseball.