The Kansas City Royals avoided an 0-2 hole and defeated the San Francisco Giants 7-2 Wednesday night in Game 2. Yordano Ventura, the hard-throwing rookie, delivered a strong 5 1/3 innings for the Royals while the offense came alive in the sixth.
Giants' starter Jake Peavy didn't see the success he had in his first two postseason starts with the team. The veteran right-hander was charged with four earned runs in five innings of work and only threw 66 pitches before manager Bruce Bochy called for the bullpen. San Francisco gave Peavy an early lead when leadoff hitter Gregor Blanco smacked a home run in the top of the first, but the Royals responded quickly in the first and second inning.
Billy Butler, the Royals' DH, started things off for Kansas City when he delivered an RBI single in the first off Peavy. Shortstop Alcides Escobar followed in the second inning with an RBI double that drove in second baseman Omar Infante. But the Giants came back in the fourth with an RBI double from first baseman Brandon Belt. The game was tied 2-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth before the drama unfolded.
Outfielder Lorenzo Cain led off the sixth with a single and then Jake Peavy walked Eric Hosmer to put the first two batters on with no outs. Bochy then made the decision to pull Peavy, and it seemingly didn't matter. Jean Machi, Javier Lopez and Hunter Strickland all made an appearance in the sixth inning and the Royals scored five runs, starting with another RBI single from Butler, a two-run double from catcher Salvador Perez, and then a two-run home run from Infante to put the nail in the coffin. Infante's home run off Strickland caused the benches to clear when the Giants reliever got into a shouting match with Perez as he came around third base to score.
The umpires restored order shortly thereafter, directing everyone to return to the dugouts and bullpens so the game could continue.
The Royals' bullpen finished off the Giants with 3 2/3 innings from a combination of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland. The three men gave up only one hit and two walks to preserve Ventura's solid outing, in which he gave up only two runs on eight hits and no walks. But the story of the night was the Royals' offense. The bats got going early and never looked back, compiling 10 hits, two walks and seven RBIs after scattering only four hits in Game 1.
"We showed them that we have fight in us, and I think they knew that already," said Billy Butler, in this ESPN article. "But we stepped up big there as a team, and that gave us some confidence."
The series will now head to San Francisco for the next three games, so the Royals need to keep their offense alive if they want to stand a chance. Jeremy Guthrie will take the mound on Friday night for Kansas City and will face veteran Tim Hudson, who is participating in his first World Series after 16 years in the MLB. Guthrie made his first career postseason start in the ALCS against his former team, the Baltimore Orioles. He last five innings and gave up only one run on three hits and two walks.
Hudson on the other hand will be making his 12th career postseason start with his third team. Until 2014, the 38-year-old never made it past the division series in six tries. But with San Francisco, he's now aboard the magical postseason train conducted by manager Bruce Bochy. The right-hander is 0-0 with a 3.29 ERA in two starts against the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals. The team won both games Hudson started.
Additionally, San Francisco is 15-6 at home in the postseason under Bochy, which bodes well for the Giants because despite the Royals' incredible run, they're a young and inexperienced team. After all, this is their first postseason appearance since 1985, while the Giants have won two of the past four World Series.
Game 3 will be broadcasted by FOX on Friday at 8:07 p.m.