Ten years ago Friday, grand slam capped season that kick-started Royals’ run of success

It was a late September game and a big crowd arrived at Kauffman Stadium to watch James Shields try and bolster the Royals’ playoff chances.

This may sound like a scene from 2014, but it was 10 years ago Friday. It was the final home game of the 2013 season when the Royals were still alive for a wild-card spot.

But they needed to pile up the wins and get some help.

On that day — Sept. 22, 2013 — Shields would get locked in a pitcher’s duel with Texas Rangers starter Alexi Ogando. Shields threw eight shutout innings, while Ogando blanked the Royals through seven innings.

It was scoreless in the top of the ninth inning when Royals manager Ned Yost brought on closer Greg Holland. Alex Rios, who would star two seasons later with KC’s World Series championship team, led off the frame by reaching on a dropped third strike.

Rios stole second but was thrown out at third trying to advance on a flyout to left fielder Alex Gordon.

The Royals’ best scoring chance came in the bottom of the 10th inning. Eric Hosmer led off with a double and the Rangers called on Joakim Soria. Billy Butler was intentionally walked and Salvador Perez followed with a single that loaded the bases.

But Mike Moustakas popped out and George Kottaras grounded into a forceout at the plate, and it appeared the Royals had squandered the opportunity.

Instead it just set up a more dramatic finish.

Justin Maxwell worked a full count against Soria, the former Royals closer, and ended the game with a booming home run to left field. The walk-off grand slam sent 27,899 fans into a frenzy. Those on hand that day remember the game having a playoff feel.

Yost has often said the Royals learned to win in the 2014 Wild Card Game. But that game against the Rangers, who also were in postseason contention, was part of a strong second half by the Royals.

“Those last couple months, we were pretty good,” former Royals closer Wade Davis recalled. “We played .600 for the second half, and then took that into the next two and a half, three years.

“Obviously that was a good way to cap it off, walk-off grand slam, I think is what it was. But the last couple months of that season we were really good. I think we were the best team in baseball.”

The Royals had a 43-49 record at the All-Star break, but finished the second half of the season with a 43-27 record, a .614 winning percentage. Davis was mostly right: the Royals had the best record in the American League in the second half.

That win over the Rangers kept the Royals alive in the wild-card chase as they headed for a season-ending road trip beginning in Seattle.

“That last series on the road in Seattle we still had a chance to get into the playoffs,” Holland recalled. “There was a lot larger Royals contingency than is normally in Seattle. And that felt great.

“I specifically remember getting cheered going back into the dugout after batting practice. I thought, ‘Oh, wow, this is something special.’ So yeah, I think at that point we were ready to turn the corner. We just kind of started that too late in the 2013 season.”

The Royals ended up five games out of a postseason spot but they finished with an 86-76 record, the franchise’s best in 24 years.

And it was a preview of sorts for what was to come the following two seasons when the Royals won a pair of American League pennants and the 2015 World Series.