Alex Gordon does it all in Game 1

— -- BALTIMORE -- The Alex Gordon moment that Kansas City Royals fans will treasure from the American League Championship Series opener came in the top of the 10th inning. With sidearmer  Darren O'Day on the mound for the  Baltimore Orioles, Gordon crushed an 87-mph fastball over the right-field fence to break a tie and propel the Royals to a draining, thoroughly-entertaining 8-6 victory at Camden Yards on Friday night.

But if a single encounter could define what Gordon means to his team, it came two innings earlier, when he provided a window into his understated brand of Nebraska Cornhusker toughness.

Baltimore's Andrew Miller, who's such a challenge to hit it's almost unfair, threw a 94-mph heater up and in that struck Gordon in the back of the neck before ricocheting off his batting helmet. After Gordon walked slowly to first base, a Royals trainer stood in front of him, waved fingers in his face and performed the usual concussion protocols. Many in the crowd of 47,124 wouldn't have been surprised if Gordon took a right turn and headed for the dugout. But the players and coaches in the Royals' dugout knew if Gordon was physically OK, he was going to shrug off the scare as a minor inconvenience.

Nine years after the Royals selected Gordon with the second pick in the draft amid oppressive expectations, Kansas City fans are fine with the realization that he'll never be the second coming off George Brett. The Alex Gordon version 1.0 still has plenty to offer when the the lights are bright and the stakes are at their highest.

Gordon provided the big early hit off C.J. Wilson in Kansas City's Division Series-clinching win over the Angels, and he was a one-man band in Game 1 against Baltimore. His personal showcase began in the top of the third inning, when he looped a bases-clearing, broken-bat double to right field off Chris Tillman to give Kansas City an early lead. It continued in the bottom of the inning when he ranged into the gap in left center to rob Baltimore's Steve Pearce of an extra-base hit.

And after getting picked off first base by Tommy Hunter and having that frightening encounter with Miller, Gordon put his stamp on the proceedings in the 10th. When Moustakas smacked a two-run shot moments later, it gave the Royals a cushion that allowed them to survive an uncharacteristically shaky outing by closer Greg Holland in the bottom of the 10th.

The Royals, who've played four extra-inning games in the postseason and won them all, outdid themselves in this one. The series opener took 4 hours, 37 minutes to complete, and the two teams combined for 26 hits, 19 strikeouts and 19 runners left on base. After Tillman lasted a mere 4 1/3 innings and Kansas City's James Shields checked out after five, managers Buck Showalter and Ned Yost combined to use 10 relievers. The Royals' Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis made enormous contributions with two shutout innings each.

You want variety? Baltimore's Alejandro De Aza drove in a run with a 75-foot bloop single in front of second base, and Jonathan Schoop got picked off second base only to luck out when Alcides Escobar's throw struck him in the back on his way to third. Nelson Cruz contributed his obligatory big hit, Royals speedster Jarrod Dyson stole second base only to be called out when his foot slid off the bag, and there was plenty of grousing from both sides about plate umpire Tim Timmons' generous strike zone. And the Royals, showing the ultimate in resilience, bounced back after a potentially deflating ninth inning in which they loaded the bases with nobody out and failed to score. The game featured everything but a rain delay, and in the end there was Gordon, as the figurative last man standing.

At one point this season, Gordon was on the fringe of American League MVP contention for his all-around contributions to the cause in Kansas City. He finished the year sixth among major league position players with 6.57 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.com. But Gordon hit a feeble .190 with a .286 slugging percentage in September, and Yost dropped him to sixth in a reconfigured lineup down the stretch. Although Gordon has remained in the No. 6 slot in the postseason, his teammates didn't have to keep a vigil to know he would bust out at some point.

While Dyson does backflips and his fellow Royals smile and high-five their way through October, Gordon is like the worldly older brother, sitting in the corner taking mental notes. He arrived on the scene in 2007 with Billy Butler, so he has endured a lot of losing through the years. But the emotional wear-and-tear never deterred him from spending long hours in the battting cage or the weight room in the constant quest for self-improvement. Gordon's tunnel vision and consistent approach seem to make him an ideal fit for October baseball, although he doesn't necessarily see it that way.

"I don't think it's me,'' Gordon said. "I think it's our team. We have a great chemistry in the clubhouse, and we're all pulling for each other. We're all fighting for each other. And we're all going out there and having fun, even though it's on a big stage with big crowds.''

The crowd at Camden Yards on Friday included some family. Even though Gordon grew up in Nebraska, his father and his older brother, Eric, are long-time Orioles fans. Eric is in Baltimore for the ALCS, and before the opener he and his little brother checked out the circular marker on Eutaw Street commemorating the 425-foot home run that Alex hit in a 7-5 loss to the Orioles on July 1, 2008.

Everyone in the Gordon household had a healthy respect for the great Baltimore teams through the years and the professionalism displayed by Hall of Famers from Brooks Robinson to Cal Ripken Jr. But in the end, there's no doubt where the Gordon family's allegiances lie.

"They're rooting for us, for sure,'' Alex Gordon said.

As the Royals continue to defy expectations by winning games in the strangest, most unexpected ways possible, the Gordons aren't alone. Kansas City's bandwagon keeps getting bigger by the day.