It all turns on a good start for the Royals, thanks to Escobar and Zobrist at the top of the order

Ben Zobrist turned on the pitch, and within a few quick moments, the baseball landed among a sea of blue stationed in the left-field stands at Kauffman Stadium.

Gone. A crowd eruption. An early lead.

Six innings later, Alcides Escobar stepped to the plate, and in a much quieter fashion lofted a single into left field. That extended his postseason hitting streak to 10 games.

In a 4-3 Royals win Friday against Toronto — one that clinched their second straight American League Championship Series — the top of the order was in the thick of it. Again.

The Royals’ top two hitters — Escobar in the leadoff spot and Zobrist in the No. 2 hole — fashioned another impact game. Escobar was named the series’ most valuable player.

“As soon as the rubber met the road in that last week, and then in the playoffs when the lights came on, he was as focused as can be and ready to come out and play good baseball. That’s what he’s done,” Zobrist said of Escobar. “He’s been so solid at shortstop for us. But then to come up with the bat he has, you can’t ask the guy to do anymore.”

The top-of-the-order combination only added to the lore of a lineup manager Ned Yost first toyed with during the final week of the regular season.

Escobar moved into second place in Royals history with 36 career postseason hits. While demonstrating a preference to swing at the first pitch, he hit safely in all six games of the series — the first time that’s been done in a postseason series. That’s after he reached base only 29.3 percent of the time during the regular season.

“For me, it’s a lot of fun being in the leadoff spot because I like to swing the bat and still be aggressive,” Escobar said. “That’s why I’ve been really consistent in this series.”

A trickle-down effect emerged.

Escobar hit .478 in the ALCS. Zobrist hit .320 for the series, and he added two home runs — including his first-inning blast Friday off former teammate Davis Price.

“There’s definitely some truth to the contagious hitting,” Zobrist said. “Especially him getting it started from the first pitch early in the series, it just ignites the crowd and ignites the team. You feel like that’s a great way to get things going. You believe that you’re gonna score runs when it happens.”

Only six days earlier, of course, Zobrist also reached base against Price, though that hit required a bit of luck. His popup fell in right field, igniting a rally that led to another Royals win.

The home run was earned.

“Any kind of hit off him is great, but to be able to hit a ball as hard as that and get it over the fence is probably one of the most treasured hits I’ll ever have in the big leagues,” Zobrist said.

So far, anyway.

The Royals will open the World Series on Tuesday against the New York Mets.

Zobrist and Escobar could offer the Royals a good start.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 1:19 AM with the headline "It all turns on a good start for the Royals, thanks to Escobar and Zobrist at the top of the order."