Howard, thanks for being with us.
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“I kept telling myself: ‘We can get out of it, keep making pitches, just get this win for the team, ‘” he said.
Then came the stunning game-winning run in the eighth when Lorenzo Cain raced home all the way from first base on a single down the right field line by Eric Hosmer as outfielder Jose Bautista threw toward second base to hold Hosmer at first.
BRYANT: They came through. But they are built for the postseason with their ability to manufacture runs and hit good pitching. And let’s face it, this is the beauty of baseball.
“When I’m coming to the field every game in the post-season, my main thing is I want to win the game”.
“Best in the game, dude”, said Greg Holland, the old closer. In Games 1 and 6, the Jays were 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position.
Royals manager Ned Yost said there were three contributers to the pivotal play, citing third base coach Mike Jirschele along with Cain and Hosmer.
The Royals wasted no time taking the lead off David Price, the Blue Jays ace who has been so good during the regular season but remains winless in eight career postseason starts.
Davis came back out, but scouts in attendance could see he wasn’t quite right. They have earned the right to host the Mets in the World Series, which begins on Tuesday.
After Game 2 in Kansas City on Wednesday, the series shifts to Citi Field for Games 3, 4, and 5 from October 30 to November 1.
“I knew we would fight to the end”.
Yes, the Royals’ third base coach knew all about Enos Slaughter, the Hall of Famer best known for his mad dash home from first base in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis.
SIMON: New York Mets won the National League championship earlier in the week, I hear, with Daniel Murphy imitating Roberto Clemente at the plate.
Mets’ rotation a novelty for K.C.. The Mets have great starters.
BRYANT: A lot of pitching. The reason why the Toronto Blue Jays had such a hard time and the reason why history is always so much against teams that hit the ball and hit the ball and hit the ball is because in these close games, this time of year when you’ve got the best pitchers and a lot of pressure, you’ve got to play defense and you’ve got to pitch.
Both of these teams were fortified down the stretch by major deadline acquisitions and a return to good health, particularly in the starting lineup. “You move forward and get ready for next year”.
It also needs to be noted that while Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz all throw 95 +, with Syndergaard often reaching back for 100 miles per hour fastballs, those pitchers all possess filthy secondary stuff. All those guys throw upper 90s.
This was no time to sweat bumps or bruises, particularly with what they were asking Wade Davis to do.
“Good send, Jirsch”, Alex Gordon said.
BRYANT:…And teams that don’t make mistakes defensively. Back-to-back strikeouts then a groundout from Josh Donaldson ended the game and launched the Royals into the World Series.
BRYANT: Well, you know, Scott, they’ve been salivating since 1945 and it hasn’t happened.
SIMON: I had a ticket to Game 5…
“When he was with Seattle, things we mentioned to our GM, if we ever get a chance to get Morales, get him, ” Gibbons said. It took an eighth-inning rally/wakeup call at Minute Maid Park to stave off an abrupt finish line, but the Royals are the last team standing in the AL because of that calm, confident and relentless nature. They have done it two years in a row.
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No one has said anything officially about Price’s status, with free agency becoming a reality just a few days after the end of the World Series. “And I tip my hat to them”.
