Kansas City Royals Advancement: Top Five Defensive Plays of 2014 Playoffs [VIDEO]

The Kansas City Royals will be playing in their first World Series in 29 years, and it is thanks in large part to the team's outstanding defense throughout the 2014 playoffs.

The Royals completed a four-game sweep in the American League Championship Series with a 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Kansas City has put together a perfect postseason so far, defeating the Oakland Athletics in the AL wild card game and then sweeping the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in three games in the division series.

The Royals will play in their first World Series since 1985, when they won their only title in franchise history. They will face the winner of the NLCS between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. The Giants lead that series 3-1.

While we await the start of the World Series, let's take a look back at Kansas City's top-five defensive plays of the postseason so far:

At No. 5 we get to cheat a little bit as we get two spectacular plays from ALCS MVP Lorenzo Cain in Game 1 of the ALDS. The centerfielder shows off his leaping ability by robbing an Angels batter of an extra-base hit in the first inning and then follows that up with a sliding catch in the second inning:

Leftfielder Alex Gordon's catch in the fifth inning of Game 4 of the ALCS comes in at No. 4. The three-time Gold Glove Award-winner makes a jumping catch before slamming into the wall. But he was OK, and even had the wherewithal to show he held on to the ball:

Cain makes a return to our list at No. 3, showing off his range with a nice diving catch in Game 3 of the ALDS:

No. 2 comes from third baseman Mike Moustakas in Game 3 of the ALCS. Moustakas put his body on the line, making an outstanding catch in foul territory before flipping over the railing into the stands:

At No. 1, you guessed it. Cain covers an incredible amount of ground on his way to making a diving catch during the sixth inning of Game 2 of the ALCS. With plays like this, it's clear the Royals have a bit of magic on their side:

What do you think should be the number-one defensive play of the postseason? Give us a follow and let us know at @SportsWN and @doricsam83.

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