The Los Angeles Angels will invite the Kansas City Royals to California to play Game 1 of this five game American League Division Series at 9:07 PM ET. Kansas City won in the Wild Card matchup to get to this point. The Angels will send out their ace Jered Weaver, 18-9 in the regular season, to take the mound against the Royals. He will be matched by Jason Vargas, 11-10 in the regular season.  

In the Wild Card game, the Athletics jumped out to a quick 7-3 start. However, that did not stop the Royals from chipping away. The Royals scored three runs in the eighth and Nori Aoki hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth off Sean Doolittle to send the game to extra innings.

After the Athletics scored in the top of the 12th inning, Eric Hosmer scored the game tying run on a infield single from rookie Christain Colon.

Salvador Perez was 0 for 5 until he stepped to the plate in the 12th inning. He ripped a shot past Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson. Colon scored and the Royals rushed the field because they were headed to the American League Division Series. 

"They finally got ahead there in the 30th inning or whatever it was," said Brandon Moss, who drove in five runs with two homers for Oakland. "That was definitely the best baseball game I've ever been a part of."

"This will go down as the craziest game I've ever played," said Hosmer, who sparked the final Royals rally with a one-out triple. "This team showed a lot of character. No one believed in us before the game. No one believed in us before the season."

"That's the most incredible game I've ever been a part of," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Our guys never quit. We fell behind there in the fifth inning, sixth inning. They kept battling back. They weren't going to be denied. It was just a great game."

Hosmer, Billy Butler, and Lorenzo Cain all stepped up in the Wild Card game on Tuesday, look for that to transpire over to the next series. Cain went 2 for 6 with two RBI's and two runs scored. Butler ripped the ball early and ended up going 2 for 4 with two RBI's. Hosmer led the team going 3 for 4 with two walks and one RBI.

Earlier in the game, the Royals had a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. James Shields was pulled from the game after tossing 86 pitches and allowing runners to reach first and second. Yordano Ventura came in and gave up a quick three run shot to Moss. That started the downhill slide for the Royals, until they came back in the late innings.

The Royals will send Jason Vargas to the mound to face the expensive Angels lineup. During the regular season, Vargas went 11-10 with a 3.71 ERA. This was a huge bounce back season for the lefty who has a losing record in his career and a 4.20 ERA. 

There has been good news recently for the Angels. One of their outfielders, Josh Hamilton announced that he is ready for the American League Division Series. Also, Matt Shoemaker said he "felt great" after a bullpen session on Sunday. He should be ready to take the mound in Game 3 after C.J. Wilson takes the mound for Game 2 of the series. Hamilton will play in Game 1.

He said, "I feel good, just like yesterday. I ran, threw, faced a lot of pitching, so I'm good to go," Hamilton said.

"There's always pain, but the point is that I'm not having muscle spasms. It's been responding well every day. I didn't have any spasms after I finished, so I'll see how it responds tomorrow," he said.

During his regular season, Weaver pitched 213.1 innings and allowed 87 runs (85 earned). He struck out 169 and only waked 65. Weaver worked for a 1.21 WHIP and opponents hit only .239 against him. He went 18-9 with a 3.59 ERA. The pitcher of eight years, will look to guide his team to a successful start to the postseason. 

Huston Street leads the team with 17 saves. He came over right before the trade deadline. 

The offense for the Angels was great in the regular season. They placed first in runs (773), sixth in batting average (.259), seventh in on base percentage (.322) and fifth in slugging percentage (.406).

The team is led by Mike Trout. The young superstar leads the team in home runs, RBI's, runs, and On Base Plus Slugging. He has 36 home runs, 111 RBI's, 115 runs, and a .939 On Base Plus Slugging percentage. 

Howie Kendrick leads the team in batting average. The veteran hit .293 in the regular season. 

The Angels are the clear favorites in this series, but do not count out the underdogs. The Royals have a never say die attitude, which will always keep them alive.