World Series: Game 1 | October 21, 2014
Giants 7, Royals 1
A Giant Ace
Bumgarner Outduels Shields, Pence Launches First-Inning Homer
His nickname is “Big Game James,” which would imply that he does well in big games. After his performance throughout the 2014 postseason, Royals fans are left wondering if James Shields’ nickname just implies that he pitches in his teams’ biggest games.
Heading into the World Series, Shields was 1–0 in three postseason starts for the Royals in 2014 with a 5.64 ERA. In those three starts, his longest outing was six innings against the Angels. The other two games were five innings apiece against Oakland and Baltimore. Before Game 1 of the World Series, Shields downplayed the numbers and revealed that he passed a kidney stone during the ALCS. Royals manager Ned Yost gave Shields a vote of confidence, pointing out how much Shields wanted to put his AL playoff games behind him.
Someone forgot to alert the San Francisco Giants, who spoiled the feel-good story of the Royals and snapped Kansas City’s 11-game postseason winning streak (dating back to 1985) on the opening night of the World Series at Kauffman Stadium.
Shields struggled through the first inning Tuesday night with both the San Francisco batters and his own control. It looked as if this might not be Kansas City’s night when the very first batter, Gregor Blanco, dropped a hit in front of center fielder Lorenzo Cain. With the way the baseball gods were working throughout the American League playoffs, that ball would’ve carried a few feet more or stayed in the air a few moments longer so Cain could make a diving catch. Instead, the ball dropped in, and three batters later, Pablo Sandoval roped a double that scored Blanco. The big blow of the inning was a 421-foot, two-run homer on a 3–2 pitch by Hunter Pence to center. Shields had the count even at 2–2, which brought the Kauffman Stadium crowd to its feet, but three pitches later, Pence gave the Giants a 3–0 lead. San Francisco got half of its total 10 hits in the 33-pitch first inning. Although he didn’t walk any in the first, trying to perfectly place pitches against the free-swinging Giants, Shields threw a first-pitch strike to only two of the seven batters he faced in the top of the first.
“He’s down 3–0, and then from that point—it was okay in the second and third but was laboring at times with the secondary stuff,” Yost said. “Normally when he’s really, really good, he’s spotting his fastball well, and his change-up is dynamite, and he was really struggling to command his change-up tonight.”
As has been the case throughout his three previous starts, Shields didn’t look comfortable. Even in the second and third innings, when Shields retired San Francisco in order, the Giants struck the ball hard. Shields was taken out in the fourth inning after not retiring the first three batters he faced. He allowed five runs and seven hits.
After hitting a two-run home run in the first inning, Giants’ Hunter Pence runs the third base line past pitcher James Shields. Shields gave up five runs in the first four innings. (AP Images)
Danny Duffy, making his first appearance since October 2 during the ALDS against Anaheim, relieved Shields and gave up one hit and two runs during his three innings.
By the time the Royals came up to hit in the bottom of the fourth, after Duffy’s first inning, the Giants had given their postseason ace, Madison Bumgarner, a five-run cushion. That was more than enough. Bumgarner allowed only three hits and one run in seven innings. The lone run came on a homer in the seventh by Salvador Perez. That was the first run Bumgarner had given up in 21 consecutive World Series innings. That streak to start a World Series career is second only to Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson, who went 28 scoreless innings. Perhaps as impressive, Perez’s home run ended Bumgarner’s postseason road scoreless streak at 32-2/3 innings.
Kansas City squandered a prime opportunity to end Bumgarner’s streaks and perhaps change the complexion of the game much earlier. With the score 3–0, Omar Infante led off the third for Kansas City by reaching on an error by shortstop Brandon Crawford. Mike Moustakas then doubled to the right-field corner. Pence played the carom perfectly, which forced Infante to hold at third. The top two batters in the Royals lineup, Alcides Escobar and Nori Aoki, both struck out swinging. After Lorenzo Cain drew a walk, Eric Hosmer grounded out to second, ending the inning. Although Kansas City got only four hits in the game, the top four batters in the lineup went a combined 1-for-14. After the Royals failed to score in the bottom of the third, the Giants added two runs in the top of the fourth.
“Bumgarner, he was dynamite,” Yost said. “We had an opportunity in the third, and I was really impressed with the way he fed off our aggressiveness and just worked up the ladder to get out of that jam. He was nails tonight.”
Bumgarner is now 3–1 with a 1.40 ERA in 38-2/3 innings this postseason. He’s gone at least seven innings in all five outings, and the only time he’s allowed more than five hits was on October 6 when the Washington Nationals got six hits and beat him in the ALDS.
Shields is now 1–1 with a 7.11 ERA in the 2014 postseason. In 19 innings he’s given up 28 hits and 15 runs. Opponents against Shields are batting .337, which is highest among all Kansas City pitchers in the postseason. Still, after Game 1, Yost was quick to say that Shields is the Game 5 starter in San Francisco.
“He’s very competitive, and he’s a guy that when his stuff is right, he’s dominant,” Yost said. “He’s like what you saw off Bumgarner tonight, that’s James Shields. I’ve been in this game a long time and I’ve seen guys struggle two and three and four times and all of a sudden come out and throw a fantastic game.
“But you have to know James Shields. You have to know that he’s a tremendous competitor. He has the ability to make adjustments. Right now he just hasn’t been as sharp as he has been. But with the extra rest and then coming back five days from now, we think will benefit him.”
World Series: Game 2 | October 22, 2014
Royals 7, Giants 2
All Tied Up
Tensions Rise As Butler, Infante Help Even Series at 1–1
The chant started raining down from the Kauffman Stadium crowd of 40,446: “Billy Butler!” Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap “Billy Butler!” Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap “Billy Butler!”
Finally, at the, um, encouragement of others in the dugout, Butler went up a couple steps and tipped his cap.
“They were egging me on [in the dugout], but I definitely heard the crowd was yelling my name,” said Butler, who had two key hits in the Royals’ 7–2 win against the Giants in Game 2 of the World Series. “They told me to get out there and do it. It was one of those things where your teammates tell you to do it—you’re going to get out there. And the fans received me well. It was an exciting time.”
Usually a curtain call is reserved for a big home run late in the game or an outstanding pitching performance. Butler’s tip of the cap came in the sixth inning—after a base hit. Well, maybe a little more important than just a base hit. With the game tied at 2–2, San Francisco starting pitcher Jake Peavy gave up a hit to Lorenzo Cain and then walked Eric Hosmer. As Butler, who has hit Peavy well throughout his career, waited on deck, Giants manager Bruce Bochy went to his bullpen and brought in Jean Machi. Butler greeted him with the RBI single that scored Cain and gave the Royals a 3–2 lead. Royals manager Ned Yost sent in Terrance Gore to run for Butler. And the chanting began.
If Butler hadn’t been pulled from the game, he probably would’ve scored anyway. Two batters later Salvador Perez belted a double that scored Hosmer and Gore. Omar Infante, who was one of four regular starters without a home run this postseason, increased Kansas City’s lead with a two-run homer into the Royals bullpen off Hunter Strickland. (Butler, Cain, and Nori Aoki have yet to hit a home run during the postseason.) The home run set off fireworks atop the crown scoreboard followed by some mini-fireworks at home plate as a frustrated Strickland started jawing with Perez. Players from both teams came out of their dugouts.
After the Royals scored five runs in the sixth, frustrated Giants pitcher Hunter Strickland shouts at Salvador Perez, who is held back by the home plate umpire. Perez maintains that he had no intention of fighting with Strickland. (AP Images)
“I don’t know what happened with that guy,” Perez said. “We don’t want to fight on the field. I’m not that kind of person, that kind of player. I just like to play hard, enjoy the game, and try to get a W for my team.”
Perez and his mates were on their way to doing that. By the time they were finished in the sixth, the Giants used five pitchers in the inning, and the Royals scored five runs and took a 7–2 lead. That was the first time a team has used five pitchers in an inning of a World Series game since Whitey Herzog and St. Louis did it in Game 7 of the 1985 series against the Royals. The five runs scored by the Royals in the inning were the most they’ve scored in a single inning—and more than they’d scored in five games—this postseason.
“We felt like with our big sixth inning there we took a little momentum out of how they were playing,” said Butler, whose contract is up at the end of this season. “They were playing really well and they continue to play well. But we showed them that we have fight in us, and I think they knew that already. But we stepped up big there as a team, and that gave us some confidence in that clubhouse.”
For a brief moment early in the game, the team’s confidence and certainly that of the Kauffman Stadium crowd, was shaken when Gregor Blanco led off the game with a home run to the right-field bullpen off Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura, who had thrown eight pitches to Blanco, all fastballs.
“A lot of times with all pitchers for me, the first inning is kind of a time when you go out, get your rhythm, get your timing, get yourself settled into the ballgame,” Yost said. “Blanco fouled off a couple of really good pitches and then centered one up. That was one of those things where, as a manager, that doesn’t really bother you. Just hold the fort from that point on, get your rhythm going, get yourself established, and then from the second inning roll. And that’s exactly what he did.”
First baseman Eric Hosmer dives onto the base to beat Gregor Blanco. (AP Images)
Ventura gave up only one more run in the game, when the Giants scored in the fourth. Pablo Sandoval led off the inning with a double to the wall in dead center on a ball that glanced off the side of Cain’s glove. After Hunter Pence grounded out, Brandon Belt doubled to right, scoring Sandoval and making it a 2–2 game. Just when it looked as if the Giants might be in the midst of a big inning, it ended abruptly when Michael Morse flew out to Aoki in right. Belt strayed too far off second base on Aoki’s high throw that Ventura picked up and threw out Belt at second.
The Royals got on the board in the bottom of the first inning with two outs when Cain doubled to left-center. Hosmer walked on four pitches, giving the Royals two runners on base for only the second time in the first two games of the series. Butler knocked his first hit of the game, this one to left that scored Cain from second and tied the game at 1–1. It was the Royals’ first hit with runners in scoring position since Game 2 of the ALCS.
With the two hits, Butler’s boosted his average to .273 in the postseason with seven RBIs.
“He is such a force in our lineup and he has been for years,” said Yost. “He’s a guy that is tremendously intelligent when it comes to hitting. He knows the opposing pitchers as well as anybody and he’s got a great eye at the plate. Anytime Billy gets up in those situations, I feel great. I feel like he’s going to get the job done, and again he did it. He came up big for us twice tonight.”
Omar Infante tags out Brandon Belt after catching him off base during the fourth inning. Infante also played an important offensive role in Game 2 with his two-run homer. (AP Images)
World Series: Game 3 | October 24, 2014
Royals 3, Giants 2
A Pitchers’ Duel
Veteran Guthrie, Royals Bullpen Thwart S.F. Giants
Jeremy Guthrie had pitched in 275 regular-season games and one postseason contest during his 11-year major league career. Tim Hudson had pitched in 458 regular-season games and 12 postseason games during a 16-year career. Neither had made a World Series appearance. That changed for both in the best pitching duel the Royals have had during this postseason.
But it’ll be the 35-year-old Guthrie who’ll never forget the night of October 24, 2014—the night he pitched one of the best games of his career and helped the Royals take a two games to one lead over San Francisco as the Royals beat the Giants 3–2 at AT&T Park.
“Happiness, excitement, gratitude—I think those describe it as best I can,” Guthrie said. “It’s something to have this chance. This opportunity is a tremendous blessing. To see a number of guys play a long time and don’t get a chance to do this. So I’m very, very grateful for what the other 24 guys have done to put us in this position and what the other eight guys did tonight, plus the bullpen to help us win this one.”
Guthrie gave up two runs and four hits over five innings. He didn’t allow any walks or strike out any. Hudson, 39, went 5-2/3 innings, giving up three runs and four hits. He struck out two and walked one. Guthrie retired 10 in a row from the last out in the second until Brandon Crawford opened the sixth with a base hit. Hudson retired 11 in a row from the last out in the second until Alcides Escobar singled with one out in the sixth. During one stretch the two pitchers combined for 20 consecutive outs.
“[Hudson] had great stuff and was keeping the ball down, good movement on his pitches. I thought he did a really nice job. He gave us what we were hoping and a chance to win, and that’s all you can ask for from your starters,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “But you look at their pitching, and they did a great job; they shut us down. We couldn’t do too much off of Guthrie. He pitched great, and their bullpen did a good job. But as far as Huddy, I thought he got better and better as the game went.”
The Royals employed the approach that’s worked throughout this postseason: strong starting pitching, a shutdown bullpen, great defense, and timely hits.
Starter Jeremy Guthrie, who had a 4.31 ERA during the regular season, throws during the first inning. During Game 3, he allowed four hits and two runs. (AP Images)
The hits started early as Hudson left the first pitch of the game—a fastball, up—to Escobar, who jumped on it and launched it off the base of the left-field wall for a double. Alex Gordon, whom manager Ned Yost moved to the No. 2 spot in the lineup as he shifted things for the National League park, grounded the ball to first and allowed Escobar to advance to third. Escobar then scored on a groundout to short by Lorenzo Cain, giving Kansas City an early 1–0 lead.
The Royals extended their lead in the top of the sixth. Escobar got his second hit of the night—the only Royals player with more than one—and broke Hudson’s streak of 11 in a row. Gordon then lifted a double to center field over the head of Gregor Blanco and scored Escobar. That was Gordon’s first World Series hit.
“It took a while, but it felt good,” Gordon said. “With Esky getting on base, just trying to get a good pitch to hit, knowing if I hit it in the gap—with Esky’s speed—he’s more than likely to score. So it was a good at bat by Esky, and he got things rolling.”
Two batters later after Cain grounded out and the Giants went with reliever Javier Lopez, Eric Hosmer battled through 11 pitches before lining one to center that scored Gordon and gave the Royals a 3–0 lead.
“That was a huge hit to finally break through and get the third run,” Yost said. “It was a game-winning run right there. But I think it’s more a testament to his tenacity in that situation, where he was not going to give in, and he was going to give his club the best at-bat that he possibly could. He kept fighting off pitches, kept fighting off pitches. He didn’t get long. He didn’t get strong. He was just trying to stay short up the middle, and finally got a pitch that he could do exactly that with.”
The Giants made things interesting in the bottom of the sixth when Michael Morse grounded a double past a diving Mike Moustakas and into the left-field corner, scoring Brandon Crawford, who led off the inning with a hit. Yost decided to bring in Kelvin Herrera an inning earlier than usual. Herrera immediately walked Blanco on four pitches. Joe Panik moved the runners to second and third with a high chopper to Herrera for the first out. Buster Posey cut the Royals’ advantage to one run with a groundout to Omar Infante that scored Morse. With Blanco at third, Herrera escaped by inducing a groundout by Pablo Sandoval.
Alcides Escobar is congratulated after scoring during the first inning, the first of three runs the Royals claimed for a Game 3 win. Escobar had a batting average of .285 in the regular season. (AP Images)
Herrera walked Hunter Pence to lead off the seventh inning and then struck out Brandon Belt before Yost went to the bullpen and brought in young Brandon Finnegan, who, remarkably, was pitching in the MLB World Series after pitching in the College World Series for TCU earlier this year. The Royals got back on track when Yost, with a 3–2 lead, brought in Wade Davis for the eighth and Greg Holland for the ninth.
“I’ll just say when you have great defense and you have lock down bullpen pitching, you have a tendency to be in those types of games, and that’s what we’ve had throughout the season,” Guthrie said. “And fortunately for us right now, we’ve got guys throwing the ball great in the back end of the bullpen and able to hold on to these small leads.”
Of course, to get to that lead, besides an offense to get some runs, it doesn’t hurt to have a performance like Guthrie’s, especially for his first World Series game. Even for an 11-year veteran, who admitted after the game that he stood behind the mound before his first pitch and looked around the stadium to soak in the moment.
“I’ve tried to do that throughout these playoffs,” Guthrie said. “It felt like I was doing something that I didn’t even dream of. A lot of people say they dreamed of playing in the World Series. I don’t think I had that dream. But now to live it, it feels right and it feels like a moment that I’ll never forget.”
World Series: Game 4 | October 25, 2014
Giants 11, Royals 4
Royals Relievers Finally Falter
Duffy, Finnegan, and Collins Succumb to Giants’ Hot Bats
Royals manager Ned Yost has answered questions until his face turned blue throughout this postseason about the comfort level of getting a game to the seventh inning with a lead or a tie and then turning the ball over to the unbeatable bullpen.
He and the Royals came up an inning short in Game 4 as the bullpen not named Herrera, Davis, and Holland was beatable—and, boy was it ever—in an 11–4 San Francisco win Saturday night at AT&T Park. The series is now tied at 2–2, which guarantees a return to Kansas City.
The Royals seemed to be holding their collective breath as they held a 4–2 lead with the Giants coming up in the fifth. Starter Jason Vargas, who looked shaky ever since his 27-pitch first inning, faced rookie Joe Panik, who led off the fifth with a double to right. With Danny Duffy and Jason Frasor ready in the bullpen and the heart of San Francisco’s lineup scheduled to see Vargas for a third time, some questioned Yost’s decision to start the inning with Vargas. Instead, after Panik’s double, Yost then went to the pen and the right-handed Frasor against Buster Posey, who grounded out to Alcides Escobar but moved Panik to third. Hunter Pence, the wild-swinging right fielder who happens to be San Francisco’s hottest hitter, singled past Escobar and scored Panik. The Royals held a 4–3 lead with one out and Pence at first. Yost decided to go with the left-handed Duffy to face Pablo Sandoval, forcing the switch-hitter to swing from his weaker right side.
It didn’t work. Sandoval, who’s been “Mr. October” for the Giants during their two recent World Series, sent a single to left. Pence, wisely electing not to test Alex Gordon’s arm, remained at third. Juan Perez then tied the game at 4–4 with a sacrifice fly to center.
Vargas gave up three runs in his four innings of work.
“I didn’t feel like [Vargas] was super sharp tonight, but he does what he does; he competes. I was really trying to get him through that fifth inning because I knew I’d have a hole there somewhere if we couldn’t get him through,” Yost said. “But with the two-run lead at that point, we decided to bring in Frasor, ended up giving up a base hit to Pence to make it 4–3, wanted to turn Panda around and hold that score right there, and try to find some way to get through the sixth inning to get to Kelvin [Herrera]. It just didn’t work tonight. It doesn’t work every night, you know. Most nights we do a pretty good job doing it. It just didn’t work tonight.”
That’s an understatement. From the moment the game was tied at 4–4, it seemed as if the wheels were ready to come off for the Royals. And they did. Rookie Brandon Finnegan came in for Kansas City in the sixth inning and proceeded to give up back-to-back hits to pinch-hitter Joaquin Arias and Gregor Blanco. After Panik put down a sacrifice bunt that advanced Arias and Blanco 90 feet, Finnegan loaded the bases by intentionally walking Posey. The plan nearly paid off. Pence grounded the ball to Escobar, who fired it home to force Arias for the second out. But with two outs and the bases still full, Sandoval lined a two-RBI single to center, followed by an RBI single for Brandon Belt, giving the Giants a 7–4 lead.
Although that’s all they needed, the Giants added four more runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Trailing 1–0 after the first, the Royals put together a very Royals-esque two-out rally in the third inning against San Francisco starter Ryan Vogelsong and seemed to have some control of the game. Gordon reached on a fielder’s choice when the Giants recorded the second out of the inning, forcing Escobar at second base. With Lorenzo Cain at the plate, Gordon stole second. Cain then beat out an infield single to short that moved Gordon to third. Hosmer rolled a slow grounder between first and second that both Belt and Vogelsong originally tried to field. Vogelsong peeled off and tried to cover first but he missed the bag. Gordon scored on the play, tying the game at 1–1. After Vogelsong loaded the bases with a walk to Mike Moustakas, Omar Infante drove a 2–2 pitch up the middle that scored Cain and Hosmer, and gave the Royals a 3–1 lead. Salvador Perez added to the hit parade with an RBI single to center that scored Moustakas and chased Vogelsong. Through the first two innings, Vogelsong had thrown 28 pitches. He threw 34 in the third. That ended the scoring for the Royals as Vargas, who led off the inning with a fly out, made the third out when reliever Jean Machi struck him out on a 3–2 count. The Royals sent 10 to the plate and left the bases loaded during the 30-minute inning.
“Not really, no,” Yost said, when asked if he felt good at that point. “We still had a lot of game to play. I’ve got a lot of respect for the Giants. I don’t ever feel good even with the lead until we make the last out. So I knew that we had to continue to try to find ways to get outs and try to get to the seventh inning, tied or with the lead, to get to our main guys.”
The Royals had an opportunity to add to their lead in the fifth inning when Hosmer led off with a double into the right-field corner. Unlike the Royals have done throughout this postseason, though, they didn’t play small ball to advance Hosmer. Moustakas popped out to the shortstop, Infante struck out, and Perez popped out to second.
The Royals now face Giants ace Madison Bumgarner in Game 5 before returning for Game 6 and possibly Game 7 at Kauffman Stadium. Yost and his guys aren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet in spite of Saturday’s blowout.
“I always feel good with this group. They’ve been playing great baseball,” Yost said. “We got our tails whipped today, but it’s Game 4 of the World Series. We’re tied 2–2. How much more fun can that be? There is nothing better in the world. I’ve never felt so good about getting my tail whooped in my life because I’m sitting here thinking it’s Game 4. It’s tied 2–2. This is a phenomenal series. It’s exciting, it’s fun, and we’ve got another great game tomorrow that we get to play.”
World Series: Game 5 | October 26, 2014
Giants 5, Royals 0
Bumgarner’s Gem
Giants’ Ace Puts San Francisco Up 3–2
James Shields needed to bounce back and pitch his best game of the postseason. For all intents and purposes, he did what he needed to do to win.
The Royals knew beating Giants’ ace Madison Bumgarner would be a tall order, even with Shields, and not just because Bumgarner cruised to a win in Game 1 of this World Series against Shields. Bumgarner, despite not getting the national attention until now, has proven to be one of the best pitchers in World Series history.
Unfortunately for the Royals and their hopes of heading home with a 3 games to 2 lead in the World Series, Bumgarner cemented his name alongside the game’s greats with a complete-game 5–0 shutout of Kansas City at AT&T Park, giving San Francisco that 3 games to 2 lead in the World Series.
“He was fantastic again,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of Bumgarner’s dominance. “You know what he does so well and what he’s so impressive doing, he commands his fastball in and out, up and down. He commands his breaking ball in and out, and really can command that pitch down and away in the dirt when he wants to to get a strike. A lot of guys have trouble commanding that pitch; they’ll hang it. A lot of guys have trouble just hitting that right spot where it just barely bounces where they can get that swing and miss. But boy, he sure had command of that tonight, too.”
For a moment there, one halfway expected Bumgarner to hit a home run for the Giants, save someone from drowning in McCovey Cove, and then maybe end the night by delivering a baby. After all, in getting his second win against the Royals during this series, Bumgarner gave up only four hits and didn’t walk any as his ERA in the World Series dropped to 0.56 and 1.13 in this postseason. In three World Series—2010, ’12, and ’14—Bumgarner upped his record to 4–0 with a 0.29 ERA in four starts.
As he did in Game 1, Bumgarner made most of the Royals batters look overmatched. When Kansas City managed to get a runner on base, Bumgarner seemed to go into a different mode. Six of his eight strikeouts came immediately after Kansas City got a hit. In the first inning, Lorenzo Cain blooped a two-out single to center. The next batter, Eric Hosmer, struck out on four pitches. The next inning, Salvador Perez led off with a base hit to right. Bumgarner proceeded to strike out the side: Mike Moustakas, Omar Infante, and Jarrod Dyson. Infante and Dyson whiffed on three pitches each. In the fifth, after Infante doubled with one out, Bumgarner struck out Dyson and Shields.
“He commanded all of his pitches and when you thought you knew something, he did the exact opposite,” said Moustakas, who went hitless in three at-bats. “That’s what makes him good right now. He was throwing his fastball in there for strikes and his slider was sweeping all the way across the zone.”
Giants first baseman Brandon Belt tagged Royals catcher Salvador Perez out at first off his one hit in Game 5. (AP Images)
Shields, who was rocked for five runs and seven hits in three innings against the Giants in Game 1 and had only one appearance in this postseason of more than five innings, pitched as well against San Francisco this time around as he did in a win against the Los Angeles Angels three weeks earlier in the ALDS. Shields gave up two runs on eight hits. He struck out four and walked only one in six innings.
“I felt good, I felt like my stuff was there and I made my pitches when I needed to and unfortunately they found some holes,” said Shields, a free agent after the season who might’ve been making his last start in a Royals uniform. “They probably had one hard-hit ball all night and that was the Hunter Pence deep fly ball. They didn’t hit the ball hard, they just found a lot of holes and they did what they needed to do to win.”
Shields got some help on that Pence fly to the deepest part of the park in the fifth. The Giants, leading 2–0 at that point, had runners at first and second with one out. Shields struck out Pablo Sandoval before Pence drove Shields’ first pitch toward the gap in right-center before Cain, who played right field for each of the games in San Francisco, chased it down at the wall, near the 421 mark.
“That was a great play. That was a phenomenal play,” Yost said. “That ball kept carrying and Cain just kept getting after it and made another phenomenal play.”
Pence scored the first run of the game—the only one the Giants needed—in the bottom of the second inning. After leading off the inning with a base hit, Pence eventually was at third with one out when Brandon Crawford grounded out to Infante, scoring Pence.
The Giants broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth when they scored two runs off Kelvin Herrera and one against Wade Davis.
The Royals headed home facing elimination with Game 6 on Tuesday night.
“You know what, we’re going back to our home crowd. The place is going to be absolutely crazy,” Yost said. “We feel good about our matchups. We’ve got to walk the tightrope now without a net, but our guys aren’t afraid of walking the tightrope without a net. We fall off and we’re dead. But we win Tuesday, nobody’s got a net. It’s going to be winner take all. So we think it’s going to be fun.”
World Series: Game 6 | October 28, 2014
Royals 10, Giants 0
Happy Homecoming
Royals Score 7 In Second Inning, Ventura Dominates Giants to Force Game 7
Perhaps fans should start calling Royals manager Ned Yost “Yostradamus” after the way things played out for Kansas City during the last couple games of the World Series. Yost has commented several times about how, deep down, he’d been hoping for this World Series to go seven games. He also showed unwavering confidence in his club after Madison Bumgarner and the Giants forced the Royals into an elimination Game 6.
Well, Yostradamus, you were correct. In front of another rambunctious Kauffman Stadium crowd, the Royals made beating the Giants look easy in a 10–0 win in Game 6, bringing about Wednesday night’s Game 7— a winner-take-all end to the major league season.
“I’ve never felt more strongly about us winning a ballgame in my life than I did [Monday] on this game,” Yost said. “I don’t know why. It’s just the confidence I have in these guys, because when you go in that locker room, you see the confidence they have in themselves. I just felt that we were going to win this game and get to Game 7 and see where that takes us. It’s a good feeling. I didn’t expect to win the game 10–0. I thought we’d squeak it out, but we’re going to Game 7. That’s all that matters.”
The way they got through the Giants in Game 6 may matter. Behind another strong pitching performance from rookie Yordano Ventura, the Royals put the game out of reach with a seven-run second inning. Mike Moustakas gave Kansas City the lead with a double off starter Jake Peavy just inside the first-base bag that scored Alex Gordon, who led off the inning with a single and moved to third on a base hit by Salvador Perez. After Omar Infante struck out with runners at second and third, Alcides Escobar turned in the play of the game. He knocked a slow roller toward first. Giants first baseman Brandon Belt fielded the ball but hesitated, making sure Perez wasn’t headed home. By the time Belt decided to make the play at first, Escobar had scooted by him and slid safely, feet first, into the bag. Nori Aoki then ripped an RBI single to left that gave Kansas City a 2–0 lead and ended Peavy’s night.
Yordano Ventura pitched seven shutout innings in the Royals’ dominant 10–0 win in Game 6. (AP Images)
“Esky’s a real instinctual player,” Yost said. “And his instincts come into play in plays like that. Those are plays that you can’t really think about. It’s just your instincts that allow you to do that.”
After Lorenzo Cain lifted a soft two-run single to center off relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit and then went to second on a wild pitch by Petit, the Giants brought their infield in, trying to hold Kansas City at 4–0. It didn’t work. Eric Hosmer bounced the ball in front of the plate and the towering chopper went over shortstop Brandon Crawford’s head and into center field for a two-RBI double. That was Hosmer’s 20th hit of the postseason, which tied him with Willie Wilson for most in a single postseason by a Royals player. The Royals put the dot on their exclamation point in the second when Billy Butler, who didn’t start any of the games in San Francisco, doubled to center, scoring Hosmer and giving Kansas City a 7–0 lead.
The Giants threatened to get on the scoreboard in the half-inning after going down by seven. Ventura, following the long layoff of his teammates’ offensive explosion, walked the bases loaded with one out before All-Star Buster Posey grounded into an inning-ending double play to Escobar. That was the only time the Giants had a runner at third base.
Otherwise, Ventura, who dedicated the game to his friend Oscar Taveras, the St. Louis Cardinals player who died in a car accident two days earlier, cruised very business-like through the Giants order. Ventura gave up three hits and five walks in seven innings. The performance gave Ventura the first postseason win of his career.
“You’ve got a 23-year-old kid pitching the biggest game that this stadium has seen in 29 years with our backs against the wall, and he goes out there in complete command of his emotions with great stuff, and throws seven shutout innings,” Yost said. “I mean, we’ve talked all along about how special he is, but this just shows. You can’t on a bigger stage than he was on tonight. To perform the way that he did was just special.”
The Royals didn’t let up, scoring single runs in the third, fifth, and seventh innings en route to a 15-hit night. The final hit and run of the night for Kansas City came when Moustakas belted a lead-off home run to right in the seventh off Hunter Strickland. It was Moustakas’ first World Series home run, and fifth in this postseason, breaking Willie Aikens’ franchise record of four homers in a single postseason.
After the game, Aikens tweeted: “Congratulations to Mike Moustakas for breaking my postseason home run record for the Royals. Way to go Moose. Keep it up Brother.”
With the win in Game 6 the Royals have now won 100 games in a season for the first time since 1980, their only other trip to the World Series besides ’85.
“As kids, what I fall back on is when I was 10 years old, hitting rocks in the backyard, trying to hit it over the fence for a home run. I never one time thought, okay, bases loaded, two out, bottom of the ninth, Game 5 of the World Series, you know? Never. It was always two outs, bottom of the ninth, Game 7 of the World Series, you know?” Yostradamus, er rather, Yost, said. “So it’s special, you know? Secretly, yeah, you’d like to come in and win it in four, win it in five, but when this thing started, I really hoped we could play seven just for the experience of it and the thrill of it, and we’re here now. So we feel good about our chances.”
Alcides Escobar slides safely to first just out of Giants first baseman Brandon Belt’s reach on an infield single. Escobar had a run, two hits, and an RBI in the Game 6 win. (AP Images)
World Series: Game 7 | October 29, 2014
Giants 3, Royals 2
Ninety Feet Away
Bumgarner Stymies Royals Again, Strands Gordon at Third
Ninety feet. That’s all that separated the Royals from pulling off the improbable in the same place where this crazy journey started 29 days ago. For a brief moment in late September, it would’ve been more plausible to find Elvis eating a North Town Burger at Chappell’s than it would be to even imagine the Royals getting past the wild-card game, let alone reaching the World Series.
And yet, here they were, 90 feet—just 30 yards—from tying Game 7 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with one of the greatest pitchers in World Series history facing the Royals player who had came up big in a similar spot 29 days earlier.
After a strikeout by Eric Hosmer and a foul out to first by Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, who had an RBI double in the second inning, stood at the plate against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. Three days ago, Bumgarner mowed down the Royals for the second time in this World Series in a complete-game, four-hit shutout. Now he was one out from getting a five-inning save while allowing no runs and only one hit.
Gordon kept Kansas City’s hopes alive, though, as he lined Bumgarner’s 87 mph slider to left-center field. Centerfielder Gregor Blanco misplayed the ball, and it rolled to the wall. Left fielder Juan Perez had trouble grabbing the ball, which allowed Gordon to motor to third base. In the aftermath some fans wished third-base coach Mike Jirschele would’ve sent Gordon home. (Even an average throw from shortstop Brandon Crawford likely would’ve nailed Gordon by 27 feet for the final out of the Series.) Others claim that had Gordon charged hard out of the box on contact, he might’ve been able to score easily. Either way, he stood at third with two outs and Salvador Perez at the plate.
Alex Gordon reaches third base after his line drive with two outs in the ninth inning got past Giants center fielder Gregor Blanco. Gordon, who represented the tying run, was stranded on third base when Salvador Perez popped up to end the game. (AP Images)
Salvy was hitless in the game, though he’d been plunked above the knee by starting pitcher Tim Hudson in the second inning. Going by averages, Perez was one of the guys the Royals would want at the plate in this situation. He was tied with Butler for the highest batting average on the team in the World Series at .333. And let’s not forget that 29 days earlier, after looking silly in five previous at-bats, Perez propelled the Royals past Oakland in the wild-card game with a walk-off RBI single in the 12th inning.
But that hit was against Jason Hammel. To tie up Game 7, Perez would have to get a hit off Bumgarner. Whereas Hammel went low and away to Perez in the wild-card game, Bumgarner decided to throw high fastballs, which are the easiest to see and hardest to hit. Bumgarner threw six pitches—all fastballs—to Perez. Perez popped the last one up in foul territory near the Giants dugout at third base. Pablo Sandoval camped under it and made the catch. The Giants won Game 7, 3–2, having recorded their third World Series title in five years.
The Royals ended the game with a man at third.
“As magical as our run has been, to end up losing the ballgame by 90 feet is tough,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “But the hard part about this is that you work all year to climb to the top of the mountain, and then—boom—you fall back and you’ve got to start right back at the bottom again next year.
“But we’ve gained a ton of experience. I don’t think I’ve ever been as proud of anything in my life as I have been of this team and the way they performed this postseason. It was just fantastic.”
The Royals were their typically resilient selves in Game 7. After the Giants scored two against starter Jeremy Guthrie in the top of the second, Butler led off the inning with a single before Gordon, who batted .185 in the series, knocked a double to center that scored Butler from first. After Hudson hit Perez with a pitch and Mike Moustakas advanced Gordon to third with a fly out to left, the Royals tied the game at 2–2 on a sacrifice fly to center by Omar Infante.
Making his second appearance in this World Series and second ever in the Fall Classic, Guthrie gave up four hits and three runs in 3-1/3 innings. With this being the last game of the season, each manager said his starting pitcher would be on a short leash. Giants manager Bruce Bochy went to his bullpen with two outs in the second and brought in former Royals pitcher Jeremy Affeldt. With one out in the fourth and runners at the corners in a 2–2 game, Yost brought in Kelvin Herrera. Designated hitter Michael Morse fought off a Herrera fastball and lined it to right, scoring Sandoval, who led off the inning with a hit.
Alex Gordon hits a double to drive in Billy Butler in the second inning. Gordon had two of the Royals’ six hits in Game 7. (AP Images)
“We had the matchup we wanted with Morse and Herrera, and Morse did a great job of kind of just fighting off a high fastball and dumping it out into right field for the winning run,” Yost said. “But Herrera was great…and Jeremy Guthrie was really throwing the ball well, too.”
Morse’s RBI hit made up Bochy’s mind. Affeldt pitched another inning before Bochy plucked Bumgarner from the bullpen to start the fifth. Infante greeted him with a single, but that was the only base runner the Royals would have until Gordon reached in the ninth.
For his five innings of work, Bumgarner got the save while Affeldt was the game’s winning pitcher. Bumgarner, who was selected as the World Series MVP after winning two games and saving one, saw his ERA for the World Series drop to 0.43.
Wade Davis and Greg Holland closed out the game for the Royals. As they’d done throughout the World Series, neither pitcher allowed a run. Both ended the series with a 0.00 ERA.
And just like that, this incredible month-long ride for the Royals was over. Through the improbable postseason run, which came 29 years after their last one, the Royals gained fans across the country and certainly brought the Kansas City community together unlike any other sports team, personality, or politician had ever done.
Just like they did after winning the ALCS, Hosmer and several of his teammates went to the Power & Light District as a way to thank the fans. A rally honoring the team was held at Kauffman Stadium the morning after Game 7.
“On a scale of one to 10 in terms of support through the postseason, it’s got to be 14,” Yost said. “It was phenomenal. What our fans did and the excitement in the city here for this last month, it’s just been absolutely unbelievable.”
Thousands of Royals fans came out to Kauffman Stadium the morning after Game 7 to show their support for the 2014 Royals, the first Royals team to reach the World Series since 1985. (AP Images)