Lorenzo Cain embodies the never-quit spirit of these Kansas City Royals

By the time the Royals had finished unfurling the latest chapter in this magical, mystical tour of theirs on Saturday at Camden Yards, the Baltimore Orioles could be forgiven if they couldn’t shrug off the specter of outfielder Lorenzo Cain.

In Kansas City’s 6-4 victory to seize a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series and ascend to two wins from the World Series, Cain was as everywhere as the air … and about as vital to the cause.

His latest set of customarily ridiculous catches and four hits made him as much an Orioles nemesis as a Royals catalyst, so omnipresent that you had to wonder if he’d been cloned or was zapping holograms of himself around the field.

Here he was triggering the Royals’ two-run first inning, and there he was puncturing Orioles would-be outbursts with a diving catches in center and right of J.J. Hardy.

If any one player embodies the never-say-die resiliency of the Royals, it just might be Lorenzo Cain.

“I expected him to make one in left before the game was over,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore says the best center fielder he ever saw was Andruw Jones … but that Cain might be as good or better.

Much of this is nothing new for Royals fans, who’ve seen Cain, 28, mature through this season.

Then again, on this postseason platform, the recent father also seems to have further risen to the moment, embodying in many ways the flourishing of a team that had scant playoff experience.

“There’s the son growing up in front of your eyes,” first base and outfield coach Rusty Kuntz said. “It just clicked for him about six weeks ago, and once we got into postseason he became an animal.

“He gets it now, the intensity and taking care of his body and getting in here early and doing his treatments and getting his workouts in. Just everything is coming together for him.

“And now he’s a new dad, so he’s got more of a purpose now. That’s what kids to do you, they just drive you to become a better man.

“He’s understanding the hard work … and the reward. And now he’s on the biggest stage in the world, and everybody else in baseball gets to see what we get to see on a daily (basis).”

And completely unfiltered, as Cain tends to be, anyway.

When he knocked home an insurance run with a single in the ninth inning, Cain was clapping and celebrating almost before he had cleared the batter’s box.

“We’ve got a chance to go to the World Series,” he said. “If you’re not pumped for this, then what can you get pumped up for?”

The flip side of his work was the deflating impact he has to be having on the Orioles.

No one in the Baltimore clubhouse was likely to admit that, but it’s easy to understand from a hitter’s standpoint.

“You try not to let (a great play) affect you, but it does,” Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said, smiling and adding that “just when you think (Cain) can’t get any better, he keeps getting better at the time you need him most.”

To wit: Cain’s diving catch of Hardy in foul ground with the bases loaded in the seventh.

“He had an extra giddy-up in his step because that’s a double right there, possible triple,” Kuntz said. “Then all of a sudden he gets around first base and looks up.”

There’s a certain joy in that for Cain, who says as a hitter it’s “heartbreaking” to have that happen to so the more he can inflict it the better.

That’s also why he almost seems to treat defense with an offensive mentality.

“I feel like that’s one thing I can really, really control,” he said. “I’m just trying to be a playmaker for my guys.”

This maturation hasn’t come easily to Cain. It reflects a zealous work ethic and discovering how better to take care of himself and even knowing his own quirks.

For instance, you may never have seen anyone fuss more over his batting gloves. On every … single … pitch.

“Everything has to feel perfect on my hands,” he said. “If it doesn’t feel right, I just feel uncomfortable out there.”

The same goes in the field with his glove.

“I fidget with it, I tighten it, I loosen the strings; I do all kind of stuff,” he said. “I’ve got to make sure I’m comfortable each and every pitch.”

He never looked more so … and never made an opponent feel less that way.

This story was originally published October 11, 2014 at 9:42 PM with the headline "Lorenzo Cain embodies the never-quit spirit of these Kansas City Royals."