MLB playoffs: Kansas City reaches first World Series since 1985 after beating Baltimore Orioles

COMPETING in their first Major League playoff series since 1985, the Kansas City Royals defeated Baltimore to advance to the World Series.

KANSAS CITY, MO - OCTOBER 15: Greg Holland #56 and Salvador Perez #13 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates their 2 to 1 win over the Baltimore Orioles to sweep the series in Game Four of the American League Championship Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 15, 2014 in Kansas City, Missouri. Ed Zurga/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

UNBEATEN in their first Major League Baseball playoff appearance since 1985, the Kansas City Royals advanced to the World Series by defeating the Baltimore Orioles 2-1.

The Royals, who won their only World Series title 29 years ago, became the first MLB team to win their first eight playoff games in a season by finishing off a four-game sweep of the Orioles in the best-of-seven American League final.

“It has been awesome,” Royals slugger Eric Hosmer said.

“But we’re not done yet.”

Kansas City will play host to the National League winner, either the St Louis Cardinals or San Francisco Giants, in game one of the best-of-seven championship final next week.

“We’re going to try to make this season even more special,” Royals outfielder Alex Gordon said.

“It has been an amazing run. We’re playing pretty good baseball.”

Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez bask in their win.

Should the Royals win their World Series opener, they would equal the all-time longest major league playoff multi-year win streak — 12 games set by the New York Yankees between 1927-1932 and matched by them in 1998-1999 — even with a 29-year gap between wins three and four.

The Royals captured the 1985 World Series by winning the final three games to defeat Missouri state rival St Louis in the maximum seven games.

Since then, Kansas City fans had suffered the longest drought of any major league team without a playoff game, but were rewarded for their patience this October when the Royals beat Oakland in the wildcard game, swept the Los Angeles Angels in the best-of-five division series and dispatched an Orioles squad seeking its first World Series berth since winning in 1983.

Hollywood actor and Kansas City fan Paul Rudd soaks up the win on the field.

“It’s not like something we didn’t do,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

“It was more like what they did.”

It was the first time the Orioles had ever been swept in a playoff series, having dropped two one-run decisions on the road and a pair of two-run decisions at home with both games level after eight innings.

Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain was named the Most Valuable Player of the series after going eight-for-15 at the plate, scoring five times and driving in another run while making several spectacular diving catches to deny Baltimore base hits.