Detroit: The Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals, both coming off long Major League Baseball playoff droughts, completed series sweeps Sunday to reach the American League Championship Series.

The Orioles edged Detroit 2-1, while the Royals out-slugged the Angels of Anaheim 8-3 to win their best-of-five matchups three games to none.

The best-of-seven American League final opens Friday in Baltimore with the winner advancing to the World Series to face the National League champion.

“It means we won an opportunity,” said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. “It’s a step.

“It’s so hard against a team like Detroit that has a great pedigree and experience ... It’s a challenge — and it will continue to be.”

The Royals had not reached the playoffs since winning the 1985 World Series, while the Orioles have not played in the league final since 1997 and have not won a World Series since 1983.

Nelson Cruz’s two-run home run in the sixth inning gave the Orioles the only scoring they needed to win at Detroit.

Cruz lofted the ball just over the right-field wall and barely inside the foul pole, tucking it 330 yards away in the shortest area of the park for a 2-0 lead.

It was Cruz’s fourth career homer off the left-handed Detroit starting pitcher David Price, who scattered five hits and struck out six over eight innings but still took the loss.

Baltimore starter Bud Norris surrendered only two hits in six and one-third innings and Andrew Miller followed with one and two-thirds innings of hatless relief.

Southpaw Zach Britton entered for the Orioles in the ninth and surrendered back-to-back doubles to Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez to give the Tigers their only run.

Detroit’s Bryan Holaday struck out and Hernan Perez grounded into a series-ending double play.

At Kansas City, Mike Trout opened the scoring for the Angels with a solo homer in the first but the Royals answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning on Alex Gordon’s bases-loaded double.

That chased Angels starting pitcher C.J. Wilson, who allowed three runs on three hits before he was lifted after recording only two outs.

Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas homered for the Royals, whose 95 regular-season home runs were the fewest of any major league team.

But the long ball has been key for Kansas City in the playoffs.

Moustakas delivered an 11th inning homer for the Royals in their game-one victory and Hosmer’s two-run homer in the 11th inning set them up for the win in game two.

“We’re catching fire at the right time,” said Hosmer, who hit a two-run homer off Hector Santiago in the third inning.

Royals manager Ned Yost said the power hitting was “huge.”

“That gave us the edge,” Yost said. “Tonight the power was huge again.”

Albert Pujols also homered for the Angels, who had finished the regular season with the best record in baseball.

“It stings,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia admitted of the quick playoff exit. “We expected better results.”

After Pujols’ homer in the fourth pulled the Angels within 5-2, Moustakas answered with a blast to right field with one out in the bottom of the frame.

Alcides Escobar then singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on Nori Aoki’s single and crossed the plate on Lorenzo Cain’s sacrifice fly.

Cain came up with two big catches in the fifth to preserve Kansas City’s 7-2 lead, and Aoki drove in a run with a single in the sixth to make it 8-2 before Anaheim’s Josh Hamilton pushed across a run in the eighth for the final margin.