Nori Aoki wasn’t about to let Lorenzo Cain have all the fun in the Angel Stadium outfield Thursday night.

What’s the best way to beat the Cardinals and the Dodgers? To find out, we asked players from across their respective divisions to give the inside intel on how these clubs can be beaten. Our sources were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor.

What’s the best way to beat the Giants and the Nationals? To find out, we asked players from across their respective divisions to give the inside intel on how these clubs can be beaten. Our sources were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor.

After the Division Series round blasted off Thursday, the 2014 Postseason will be sent into orbit today with four games that touches every division in baseball. The quadrupleheader begins at high noon on the East Coast, spanning from coast to coast and league to league, and offering baseball fans an opportunity to bask in a rare postseason marathon session.

The Royals tried not to be too jubilant after taking Game 1, 3-2. Across the way, the Angels definitely weren’t ready to run up the white flag in their AL Division Series, which continues Friday night at Angel Stadium with right-hander Yordano Ventura pitching for the Royals against Matt Shoemaker of the Angels.

They did it again, didn’t they? Those Kansas City Royals surprised us again. But let’s make this the last time.

Standing on third base with no outs and a man on first in the bottom of the eighth, Mike Moustakas went through every bunt scenario he could think of.

The Angels converted only 26 sacrifice bunts during the regular season — the seventh fewest in baseball and 50 fewer than the Major League-leading Reds. In Game 1 of the American League Division Series — a 3-2, 11-inning loss mired by missed opportunities — Angels manager Mike Scioscia called for it in three straight innings late into Thursday night, and it backfired each time.

Mike Moustakas was back where his baseball roots began, and he dug deep into them and bashed a home run to give the Royals an 11-inning, 3-2 victory over the Angels in the opener of the American League Division Series on Thursday night.

Mike Moustakas didn’t know whether the pitch was a changeup or a fastball. He couldn’t hear the dozens of friends and family members in attendance going crazy, while the rest of Angel Stadium fell silent.

Angels right-hander Jered Weaver, who waited five years to return to the postseason, got his opportunity on Thursday, starting Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Royals. He didn’t disappoint.

The Royals are up one game in their best-of-five series with the Angels after using eight pitchers over 11 innings in a 3-2 victory on Thursday. The momentum can shift quickly in any short series, but there are still a few things to be gleaned from Game 1 of the American League Division Series.

Jason Vargas, starting for the Royals in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, held the Angels to two runs in six innings, assisted by some excellent defensive plays.

The Royals outlasted the Angels, 3-2, in 11 innings on Thursday to claim Game 1 of an American League Division Series. Kansas City went hitless from the fifth inning until the top of the 11th, when Mike Moustakas delivered a go-ahead solo home run. Here’s a collection of stats you should know.

Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera had to exit the Royals’ 3-2 win over the Angels in Game 1 of the American League Division Series after just one batter on Thursday night with tightness in his right forearm. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Friday.

Mike Trout took the field Thursday night at Angel Stadium feeling excited, but also a little nervous. The biggest occasion the 23-year-old could relate it to was his first Major League at-bat. Come Game 2 on Friday, he is confident he’ll find more success with the experience of Game 1 under his belt.

Usually Andrew Miller and Darren O’Day, the Orioles’ setup men, don’t head down to the bullpen until around the fifth inning. In Game 1 of Baltimore’s 12-3 win over Detroit in the American League Division Series on Thursday, that plan changed. The relievers headed to the bullpen an inning early and started stretching an inning early.